68 TRIANDRIA DIGYNIA 



lark; upper one awnless, with an awn-like process, or pedicel, at tit:, base of \Ht 

 upper palea, bearing membranaceous rudiments oi pale®, at its summit. S«M 

 riosciy invested by the smoothish, shining, subcartilaginaus pale*. 

 f}ab. Cultivated fallow grounds: common. Fl. July. Fr. August* 



Obs. TWs <8 extensively mltivutc<L-~-chiefly as food for horses. It is usually 

 sown as afailoto croj>, after Indian Com. // succeeds better than Barley in a thin 

 ±(ril ; and is therefore frequently employed , in the rotation of crop:, when Barley 

 n}Ould have been preferred, had the laud been good. The Seed is usually sown the 

 latter end of April. 1 have observed a Variety*— cultivated about Easton in this 

 Slate, and in New Jer» y. opposite,— urith more erect, coarctate, and rather B< cund 

 panicles, with the florets generally awn less: which is said to be more productive, 

 and to yield a heavier grain, than the common sort. The A inula, rotted "skinless 

 oats,"— with 2 to5-fiowercd spikelets, and seed I »osely covetfed by the palea*,— has 

 been partially cultivated by the < urious^ on unount of its superior fitness for ma* 

 king out meal, as an article of diet for the sick. One or two other species if Avena 

 ewe enumerated in the U. States. 



§ 3. Bhomkje — Bvome-gvass Grottpe. 



Spikelets many-Jlowered, oblong. Florets sessile, closely and distichouly arran- 

 ged on the rachis. 



+ Spikelets in a racemose panicle. 

 44. DANTHONIA. DC. Nutt. Geru 100. 



[Named in honor of JM. Danthoine, a French Botanist.] 



Spikelets 2 to 7-flowered. Glumes 2, nearly equal, longer than the 

 florets, loose and somewhat expanding, Palese hairy at base ; the low- 

 er one bifid at apex, with a twisted awn between the segments; the up- 

 per one obtuse, entire. 



1. D. spicata, Iioem % & Schult. Leaves subulate; lower sheath* 

 pilose at throat ; panicle simple, spike-form ; spikelets about 7-flower- 

 ed ; lower palea hairy. Beck, Bot. p. 405. Specim. Gray, Gram. 2. 

 710. 117. 



Avena spicata. Willd. Sp. 1. p. 453. Puvsh, .7m. 1. p. 86. MuhL 

 Catal. p. 13. Ejusd. Gram. p. 183. Bigel Bast. p. 32. Not? of 

 Elliott. 

 Spired Danthoxia. Vttigd — Oat-grass. Wild Oats. 



Root perennial ? Culm 13 to 18 inches high, slender, somewhat cespitose, often 

 alittle decumbent. Lower leaves numerous, 9 to 6 inches long, Hat, or involute, 

 often pilose, scabrous near the apex : culm leaves short, erect, subulate ; sheaths 

 striate, pilose at throat, and also at base just above the nodes ; ligule very short, cil« 

 iate. Panicle short, erect, spike-form, sometimes the lower branches divided.; 

 spikelets 3 to 5, occasionally 10 or 15,— each 6 or 7-flowered, distichous. Glumes* 

 little longer than the florets, lanceolate, 5-nerved. Lower palea ovate, incurved^ 

 subooriaceous, obscurely 7-nerved, pilose, with a scarious margin, which is extend- 

 ed into two lance-ovate teeth, at the apex : awn about twice as long as the palea, 

 flat at base and spirally twisted. Upper palea lance-ovate, membranaceous,, 

 white, with a green nerve at each border, and finely ciiiate on the margin. Stales 

 Goiiatoral, oblong, obtuse, or truncate. Seed oblong, compressed, incurved, len- 

 gjtudinally striate or rugose, the apex slightly 2-horneU. 



