The Book of Grasses 



showy spikelets which in 

 bloom make the grass the 

 most stately of the genus. 



Creeping Eragrostis {Era- 

 grostis hypnoides), found on 

 the sandy banks of streams, 

 spreads extensively over the 

 surface of the ground, and 

 in this habit is unlike our 

 other common species of 

 Eragrostis. The short, dark 

 panicles are somewhat like 

 those of the Strong-scented 

 but are smaller and less 

 densely flowered, and a care- 

 ful examination shows that 

 the staminate and pistillate 

 flowers are borne on separate 

 plants. 



The plants of this genus 

 are widely distributed over 

 the warmer regions of the 

 world, and although these 

 grasses are of less value than 

 many, a large species, found 

 in the Eastern Hemisphere, 

 furnishes an edible grain. 



The English gave the 

 name of "Love-grass" to 

 certain of the genus, and it 

 has been suggested that the 

 generic name of these beau- 

 tiful grasses may have been 

 derived from eras, love, and 

 agrostis, grass. 



Strong-scented Eragrostis. 

 Snake Grass. EragnUlis 

 megasiachya (Koeler) Link 



Annual. Naturalized from Europe. 

 Stem 6'-^o' tall, erect or spreading, usuall\' much branched. Sheaths 



1 80 



Eragrostis Pcctinacca 



