Illustrated Descriptions of the Grasses 



bolus dsper), also, bears a narrow panicle, but the stem is often 

 three feet in height and the leaves are very long. 



The bluish or lead-coloured panicles of Sand Dropseed {Sporo- 

 bolus cryptdndrus) are open and many-flowered; Northern Drop- 

 seed {Sporoholus heterolepis) bears an open, less heavily flowered 

 panicle, and long, thread-like leaves. 



Sheathed Rush-grass. Southern Poverty-grass. Spo- 

 roholus vaginaefldrus (Torr.) Wood. 



Annual. 



Stem 6'-2o' tall, slender, tufted, erect. Sheaths somewhat inflated. 

 Ligule very short. Leaves \'-4,' long, i" wide or less, upper leaves 

 rather rigid and bristle-like, lower leaves much longer. 



Panicles f'-3' long, terminal and lateral, very narrow and contracted, 

 lateral panicles enclosed in the sheaths. Spikelets i-flowered, 

 I J"-2" long. Scales 3 ; outer scales slightly unequal, very acute; flower- 

 ing scales very acute, rough toward the apex. Palet very acute, as 

 long as flowering scale. Stamens 2 or 3, anthers dark red, large. 

 Stigmas white. 



Dry and sandy soil. August and September. 



Vermont to Wyoming, south to Georgia and Texas. 



Gauze-grass. Sporoholus unijldrus (Muhl.) Scribn. & Merr. 



Perennial. 



Stem 6'-i8' tall, very slender, somewhat flattened, erect. Ligule very 

 short. Leaves 2'-6' long, about |" wide, flat. 



Panicle 3'-8' long, very delicate, branches hair-like, erect or ascending. 

 Spikelets i-flowered, (occasionally 2-flowered), minute, about f" long, 

 light purple, on slender pedicels. Scales 3; outer scales obtuse, about 

 equal, half the length of the acute flowering scale. Stamens 2 or 3. 



Wet, sandy soil. July to September. 



Maine to Michigan, south to New Jersey. 



THE BENT-GRASSES 



BROWN BENT-GRASS, THIN-GRASS, ROUGH HAIR-GRASS, AND RED-TOP 



"Soon will the high midsummer pomps come on." 



Neither the earlier nor the later grasses so monopolize field 

 and wayside as do those of this genus, whose hundred species are 

 scattered through all the temperate regions of the world. As 

 typical of midsummer warmth as goldenrod is of the largesse of 

 autumn, they begin to bloom by the waysides of June, and symbol- 



115 



