Thk Ukassks ok Tknnksmkk. 23 



to five nerved, the hyaline marjjins ciliate; third j^lume e(iuallin^ 

 the second, the fourth somewhat shorter, both one- to three nerved, 

 lanceolate and acute. Palea small. Sessile spikelet three and one- 

 half to tive and one-half lines lonj^, narrow-lanceolate, acute; first 

 glume coriaceous, very acute, or s(jmetimes loni^ acuminate- 

 pointed, apex minutely bimucronaie, margins strcjngly inflexed, 

 keels aculeolate scabrous, the back jiunctate scabrous or smooth 

 below, callus barbate, the hairs about one-fourth as long as the 

 glumes; second glume ecjualling the first, lanceolate, boat-shai)ed, 

 acuminate or mucronate, one-nerved, keel scabrous, the narrow, 

 infolded and hyaline margins ciliate; third glume a little shorter 

 than the second, lanceolate, imperfectly three-nerved, the infolded 

 margins ciliate; fourth glume somewhat shorter, lanceolate, more 

 or less deeply bifid at apex, the divisions acute, ciliate on the mar- 

 gins, three-nerved near the base, awned; awn six to eight lines 

 long, with the column slightly exserted from the glumes. Palea 

 one-half to two-thirds as long as its glume, fimbriate at apex. 

 Anthers yellow, one and one-half lines long. vStigmas purple. 



This species varies a good deal in the number of the racemes, 

 size of the spikelets, and special characters of the culm and foli- 

 age. According to Hackel the callus of the pedicellate spikelet is 

 distinctly barbate in the typical plant. In ?,ubya.viety /urea/ us the 

 base of the pedicellate spikelet is smooth, the sheaths often vil- 

 lous. In subvariety Lindheimeri the spikelets are five lines long, 

 the mouth of the sheaths barbate, and the leaves more or less tu- 

 berculate-pilose. In the subvariety pycnanihus, the joints of the 

 racemes are about one-third the length of the sessile spikelet, 

 which is three and one-half to four lines long. These varieties 

 may all be found within the State, and also the following: Variety 

 Tennessecnsis Scribn.; rachis, pedicels, and outer glumes rough- 

 scabrous, hairs yellow; pedicellate spikelet as large as the sessile, 

 hermaphrodite, with the fourth glume sometimes short awned. 

 This variety is based upon specimens found near Knoxville. It is 

 well marked, approaching A. Hallii. 



Big Blue-stem is a strong-growing, native grass, found through- 

 out the State in dry soil, though rarely seen in cultivated lands. 

 In some sections of the country it is valued both for hay and pas- 

 ture. When young it is readily eaten by stock, the stems being 

 very leafy, but after flowering the stems become hard and woody, 

 and of little value. In certain soils, or under certain conditions, 

 this grass might be worth cultivating. It grows to the height of 

 three or four feet, and like all the Andropogons, blooms late in 

 the season. 



3. Andropo^on argyraeus Schult. Silver Beard-grass. 



Plate II. Figure .s 



A rather slender, branching perennial, two to three feet high, the 

 branches all terminating in a pair cf more or less spreading, white 



