ThK (iUASSKS OK TkXNESSKK. 27 



coriaceous, more or less pilose, broadly lanceolate or narrowly ob- 

 lonjj, apex truncate, tlat or slightly convex on the back, five- to 

 nine-nerved, marj^ins subinvolute; callus short, obtuse, while-bar- 

 bate; second ^lunie similar in texture, narrower, fewer-nerved 

 and a little longer than the tirst, obtuse or with a depressed triangu- 

 lar apex; third ^lunie as long as the first, hyaline, nerveless, obtuse, 

 ciliate on the margins; fourth glume a little shorter than the third, 

 ovate-lanceolate, three nerved, ciliate, apex bidentate or bifid, 

 awned between the divisions. Palea small, fringed at the broad 

 apex, sometimes wanting. Pedicel very slender, plumose, shorter 

 than the sessile spikelet, to which it is appressed. 



A variable species presenting numerous well-marked varieties, 

 some of which have been regarded as distinct species. Two forms 

 come within our limits. 



1. Var. .-vVENACEUS {A. avenaceus Michx. A. c Hiatus Ell/ Sor^hunt 

 avefiiiceum Chapm.) Panicle rather dense, six to twelve inches long, 

 spikelets lanceolate, three to four lines long, the first glume more 

 or less pilose, second glume glabrous; awn five to ten lines long, its 

 column straight or very slightly geniculate. Lower racemes with 

 only two to three spikelets. In dry, sandy soil, open pine woods,, 

 etc 



This is a stout perennial grass, four to six feet high, growing in 

 dry soil, along borders of fields, or open woods. It rarely occurs 

 in sufficient abundance to be of any value, and when it has 

 bloomed, its stems are too stout and woody to be eaten by stock. 

 it is not to be recommended for cultivation. 



2. \'ar. LiNN.F.ANUS Hackel. {^Sorghum nutans Chapm. C/nuo/x'xon 

 nutans Benth.) Plate IV. Figure 13. Panicle eight to twelve 

 inches long, lax, branches straight or more or less curved; spike- 

 lets linear oblong, very dark brown, three to four lines long, the 

 first glume thinly pilose to the middle, callus one-half line long: 

 second glume glabrous, or sparingly pilose, awn twelve to fifteen 

 lines long, its column distinctly geniculate near the middle. Ra- 

 cemes usually reduced to a single spikelet. Steri'e pedicel about 

 the length of the spikelet. This form approaches A. unilateralis. 



Dry bluffs near Knoxville. 



8. Andropogon Sorghum Halepense Hackel. (Sorghum HaUpense 

 Pers.) Johns(jn-grass. 



Plate IV. Figure 14. 



A stout, perennial, with smooth, erect, simple culms, three to five 

 feet high, and strong creeping rootsiocks. Leaves elongated, one- 

 fourth lo three-fourths inches wide, acute; ligule ciliaie, and on the 

 back where the leaf-blade joins the sheath there is more or less 

 pubescence. Panicle open, six to twelve inches long, the whorled 

 branches naked below, the three to five flowered racemes clustered 

 towards their extremities. Pedicels of the staminate (rarely neu- 

 tral) spikelets pilose with stout hairs. Sessile spikelet broadly 

 lanceolate, acute, two to three lines long, pale green or violet, be- 

 coming dark or nearly black at maturity. Callus small, obtuse, 

 shortly and sparsely barbate. First glume coriaceous, sparingly 



