Oeder 156.— GEAMINB^. 775 



1. LEER'SIA, Solatid. Cut Grass. False Eice. (In honor of 

 John Daniel Leers, a German botanist.) — Spikelets l-flowered, g , flat; 

 glumes none ; paleas boat-shaped, compressed, awnless, bristly-ciliate on 

 the teel, nearly equal in length but the lower much broader, enclosing 

 the free, flat grain (caryopsis). — li Swamp grasses, with flat, retrorsely 

 rough-edged leaves, and the fls. racemous-paniculate, somewhat secund, 

 jointed to the pedicels. 



1 D. oryzoides Swartz Cut Grass. Culm retrorsely Ecabrous, 3 — 5fhigh; Ivs, 

 lanceolate, carinate, the margin very rough backwards; sheaths also very rough- with 

 retrorse prickles; panicle much branched, diffuse, sheathed at the base; spikelets 

 spreading; palece full 2" hng, ciliate on the keel, white, compressed and closed ; sta. 

 3. — y A very rough grass, common in swamps, by streams, etc., U. S. and Can. 

 Aug. 



2 L. Virgfnioa Willd. 'White Grass. Culm slender, branched, geniculate or 

 decumbent at base, 2 — 3f long, nodes retrorsely hairy ; Ivs. lance-linear, roughish; 

 sheaths roughish backwards, striate ; panicle simple, at length much exserted, the 

 lower branches diffuse ; fls. pedicellate, in short, appressed, flexuous racemes ; 

 lower palea scarcely more than 1" long, green-veined, mucronate; sta. 1 — 2. — y 

 Damp woods, TJ. S. and Can. Aug. 



3 L. lenticul^ris Michx. Catch-ply Grabs. Plant smoalhish; culm erect, 

 2 — if high ; panicle erect; ^. large, roundish-oval, near 3" diam., imbricated; 

 sta. 2 ; pales with the keel and veins ciliate. — if ^et places, Ct. (Eaton) to 111. 

 and S. States. Not common. Said to catch flies by the sudden closing, of its 

 pales. 



2. ORY^ZA, L. Rice. (Gr. dpv^a, from the Arabic, Eruz.) — Spike- 

 lets l-flowered, ^; glumes 2, very small, cuspidate; pales 2, boat- 

 shaped, flattened, the lower one broader and mostly tipped with a 

 straight awn ; stam. 6 ; stigmas with branching hairs ; grain oblong, 

 free, smooth, enveloped in the pales. — Mostly 3). Fls. in a branching 

 panicle of racemes. Spikes hispid, jointed to the pedicel. 



O. sativa L. Culm 2 — if high, striate ; Ivs. long, rough, lanoe-linear ; ligule 

 long (near 1'), erect, pointed ; panicle with erect branches, 6 — 9' in length ; outer 

 pale strongly 5-veined or keeled, hispid-ciliate and commonly tipped with a short 

 awn. — Extensively cultivated in the S. States, both in upland meadows and in 

 low inundated grounds. The former variety — the v/pland rice, is usually awnless, 

 the latter is awned. A most important Cereal. \ Asia. 



3. ZIZA^NIA, Gron. Indian Rice. {Zt^dviov, the Greek name of 

 some similar plant.) — 8 Glumes 0; .spikelets l-flowered; paleae 2, 

 herbaceous. $ Paleae subequal, awnless ; stamens 6. ? Spikelets 

 subulate ; paleas unequal, linear, lower one with a straight awn ; styles 

 2 ; caryopsis enveloped in the plicate palese. — Stout, aquatic grasses, 

 with a large panicle of both kinds of flowers. 



1 Z. aqudtica L. Cuhn J' in diameter, fistular, smooth, 6f high; Ivs. lance- 

 linear, 2 — 3f long, an inch wide, smooth, serrulate ; panicle a foot or more long, 

 pyramidal, the lower branches divaricate and sterile, the upper spicaie and fertile ; 

 spikelets on clavate pedicels ; awns long (18"), hispid ; fr. slender, f long, black- 

 ish, very caducous, farinaceous. — 'A Inundated shores of ponds and rivers, TJ. S. 

 and Can. The fruit, which is very abundant, affords sustenance to wild geese, 

 ducks, and other water fowls. Aug. 



2 Z. miliacea Michx. Culm erect, 6 — lOf high ; Ivs. very long, narrow, glau- 

 cous; panicle large, diffuse, pyramidal; glumes with short (1 — 3") awTis; $ and 

 S fls. intermixed; sty. 1; fr. ovate, glabrous?^ — U Growing In water, Ohio to 

 Fla. and La. Lvs. coriaceous, 2 — 3fIong, 6 — 12' wide. Apr. — Aug. 



3 Z. ? fliiitaiis Michx, Culm long, slender, branching, floating in the water ; 



