104 



CONTRIBUTIONS FEOM THE NATIONAL HEEBARIUM. 



/ 52. Panicum stipitatum. Nash. 



Panicum elongatum Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 69. 1814, not Salisb. 1796. "New 

 Jersey to Virginia." Among the Pursh plants in Kew Herbarium are two sheets 

 labeled "Panicum elongatum Pursh. Fl:Amer.," on one of 

 which is a robust specimen and a ticket bearing an unpub- 

 lished herbarium name, and also the name "elongatum " and 

 the word "Delaware." This is taken as the type. On the 

 second sheet are two slender specimens, one of this species 

 and the other of P. agrostoides . 



Panicum agrostoides elongatum Scribn. Tenn. Agr. Exp. Sta. 



Bull. 7 : 42. pi. 9.f. 34. 1894. Based on P. elongatum Pvu^h. 



Panicum. stipitatum Nash in Scribn. U. S. Dept. Agr. Div. 



Agrost. Bull. 17 (ed. 2): 56./. 352. May 22, 1901. Based on 



P. elongatum Pm-sh, 1814, not Salisb. 1796. "Nash, in Britt. 



Manual, 83, 1901," is here cited as "the place of publication, 



but this must have been taken from proof sheets, since the Manual was not published 



until after August 24, 1901, that being the date given after the preface. 



Fig. 96 .—P. stipitatum. 

 From Common's no. 305. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Plants like P. agrostoides inhabit, often purple-tinged throughout; culms on the 

 average stouter, strongly coi^ressed; sheaths much overlapping, blades usually 

 equaling or exceeding the terminal panicles, often scabrous on the lower surface; 

 panicles usually several to a culm, sometimes as many as five axillary panicles, com- 

 monly dark purple, short-exserted, 10 to 20 cm. long, one-third to half as wide, 

 densely flowered , the numerous stiff branches ascending, with numerous divaricate 

 branchlets mostly from the lower side and beginning at the base, bearing crowded, 

 subsecund spikelets, the short, scabrous pedicels only rarely with one or two erect 

 hairs; spikelets 2.5 to 2.8 mm. long, about 0.7 mm. wide, often curved at the point; 

 first glume about half the length of the spikelet; second glume and sterile lemma 

 subequal, scabrous on the midnerve at the acuminate apex; fruit about 1.5 mm. 

 long, about ^.6 mm. wide, short-stipitate. 



Typical specimens of this species are characteristic and readily distinguished from 

 P. agrostoides, but less densely panicled forms, with smaller spikelets approach that 

 species. Such are the following: Bush 

 3658, Chase 4497, Cocks 3008. In these 

 specimens the fruit is stipitate, for 

 which reason they are referred to this 

 species. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Moist soil, Connecticut to South 

 Carolina, west to Kentucky, Missouri, 

 and Texas. 



Connecticut: Lyme, Graves 236. 

 New Jersey: Camden, Scribner 

 39 in part; Oradell, Mackenzie 

 1893. 

 Pennsylvania: Chambersburg, Porter in 1897; Westchester, Darlington in. 1827. 

 Ohio: Lancaster, XeZZerman 6800. ^ 



Missouri: Williamsville, Bush 3658. 

 Delaware: Greenbank, Commons 25 and 305 in 1884. 

 Maryland: Hyattsville, Rouse 1443. 



Fig. 97.— Distribution of P. stipitatum. 



