GRAMINE^E. 247 



P. palustris. Muhl. Has a diffuse panicle ; florets a little 

 webbed at the tip ; 2-3 feet high, erect ; in wet meadows ; June. 



The other species, aquatica, T., elongata, T., hirsuta, Ml., 

 obtusa, Muhl., pectinacea, Mx., reptans, Mx., like several of the 

 preceding, have little utility. 



Tricuspis. P. de Beauv. 



Spikelets roundish, swollen, many-flowered, 5-7 ; lower palea 

 bifid-toothed ; seed 2-horned. 



T. seslerioides. Torrey. Formerly considered a Poa, a large 

 and splendid grass, often 5 feet high, with a large spreading pan- 

 icle, purplish, in wet meadows ; falsely called Red-top, and far in- 

 ferior for utility in New England. It is said to yield two crops a 

 season in the mountain meadows of Pennsylvania, and to be an 

 excellent grass. It must be cut early to be eatable by cattle, and 

 then may become a valuable grass. Leaves are large, and long, 

 and smooth. This is the Poa quinquefida of Pursh, and seems 

 to be very close to that genus. 



Pa sp alum. L. 3. 2. Paspalon Grass. 



The two species, ciliatifolium, Mx., and setaceum, Mx., do not 

 appear extensively diffused ; it is the Greek name for millet. 

 Loudon. 



Muhlenbergia. Schreb. 3. 2. 



Named in honor of Muhlenberg, to whom the Botany of this 

 country is greatly indebted, a pupil of Linnaeus, and distinguished 

 as a scientific man, an ardent lover of nature, with a character 

 every way estimable. 



Two species, diffusa, Schreb., and erecta, Schreb., are found in 

 this State ; small slender grasses, of little value, early losing their 

 seed, and called Drop-seed Grass ; not abundant, good food for 

 cattle. 



As the name of the great Linnaeus was given to a small and 

 neglected plant, so that of Muhlenberg is honored by one of the 

 poor grasses. 



