76 Karl M. Wiegand and Arthur J. Eames 



c. Plant erect or slightly decumbent ; panicle open ; leaf blades 3-8 mm. wide. 



1. A. alba 

 c. Plant strongly decumbent ; panicle contracted, narrow ; leaf blades 2-5 mm. 

 wide. la. A. a., var. maritima 



b. Ligule of the upper leaves 0.5-2 mm. long; spikelets deeper, brighter, and richer 

 in color, more glossy; panicle very loose, with capillary branches and without 

 clusters of spikelets near the rhachis ; leaf blades 1.5-2.8 mm. wide, commonly 

 involute when 'dry; plant greener. 2. A. tenuis 



a. Palet wanting ; panicle very diffuse. 



b. Branches of the panicle 2-7 cm. long, mostly flexuously and divaricately branched 

 at or below the middle ; spikelets scattered ; culms usually much longer than the 

 panicle ; leaves 1-6 mm. wide, rather flat. 3. A. perennans 



b. Branches of the panicle 6-12 cm. long, slender and straight, with appressed 

 straight branches above the middle which are spikelet-bearing near the tips ; 

 culms from slightly longer to much shorter than the panicle, less leafy ; leaves 

 firmer, narrower (1-2 mm. wide), involute. 4. A. hyemalis 



1. A. alba L. (A. vulgaris, in part, and A. vulgaris, var. alba, of Cayuga Fl.) 



Red Top. Bent Grass. 



Fields, roadsides, and damp places, in heavy and light soils especially when neutral 

 or slightly acid ; very common. July. 



Escaped from cultivation and widespread in N. A. Native of Eu. and possibly also 

 of northern N. A. 



Hitchcock (Bui. U. S. Dept. Agr., no. 772, 1920), Piper (Bui. U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 no. 692, 1918), and Schinz all agree that A. alba L. is not an Agrostis but probably 

 is Poa nemoralis. The next oldest name, A. palustris Huds., is not clearly the old 

 A. alba, but, judging from the description, is probably A. alba, var. maritima, or 

 some similar form. The name A. alba L. may be retained until the matter is settled. 



la. A. alba L., var. maritima (Lam.) G. F. W. Meyer. (A. palustris Huds., 

 probably.) Carpet Bent Grass. 



Low grounds, in alluvial soils, especially in the vicinity of salt springs ; frequent. 

 July. 



Fall Creek, above Forest Home ; Ithaca flats, near the salt works, abundant ; 

 Taughannock Point ; Farley Point ; muddy strand opposite Cayuga village and n. 

 of the village ; salt pond e. of Montezuma ; and elsewhere. 



Range in N. A., and extent to which introduced, not definitely known. Occurs also 

 in Eu. 



2. A. tenuis Sibth. (A. vulgaris of authors. A. capillaris L., possibly. A. alba, 



var. vulgaris, of Gray's Man., ed. 7.) Rhode Island Bent Grass. 



Dry or damp pastures, in gravelly soil ; infrequent. July. 



Hillside pastures n. and n. w. of Caroline Center (K. M. W ., A. J. E., & L. P. 

 Randolph) ; near McLean Bogs; and probably elsewhere. 



Naturalized from Eu. ; perhaps also native. 



Until it is decided whether A. capillaris L. is A. vulgaris, as held by Hitchcock 

 and Schinz, or some other species, as held by several European botanists and by 

 Piper, the next oldest name that unquestionably applies to the present species, A. 

 'amis Sibth., may be used. 



The form with the flowering glume awned, forma aristata (Parnell) Wiegand 

 (see Rhodora 26:2, 1924, A. vulgaris, var. aristata Parnell, not A. alba, var. aristata 

 Gray) occurs at Ringwood (K. M. W. & A. Gershoy), in a pasture one-half mile 

 s. e. of McLean (F. P. Metcalf), and on a dry gravelly knoll e. of Malloryville Bog. 



3. A. perennans (Walt.) Tuckerm. Thin Grass. 



Dry or damp open woodlands, in gravelly subacid or acid soils ; not uncommon. 

 July-Sept. 



