T 1 1 i: a KASSKS OK Tkn n ksskk. 96 



KKY TO TIIK SPEC IKS. 



I. Culms prostrate, creepin^^ spikelets linear lanceolate, many- 

 tloweretl; llorets acute i.E. kkptans 



1. Culms not creeping, simple or more or lessditfusely-branched 



below f 



2. Spikelets small {-'^. to i K' lines) 2- to 4-flowered; glumes 



acute, lateral nerves obsolete or very faint 3 



2. Spikelets 2 to 12 lines long, 5- to many-flowered 4 



3. Low, 5 to 10 inches high, panicle 2 to 5 inches long, spread- 



ing^ with capillary branches and pedicels . 2. E. Fkankii. 



V Taller, panicle to 15 inches long, with widely-spreading 



capillary branches and pedicels . . . 3. E. cafii-lakis. 



4. Low, much-branched annuals, spikelets less than a line broad. 5 



4. Spikelets i to 2^4 lines broad, annuals or perennials ... 6 



5. Spikelets spreading, narrow-linear (about J{ o^ ^ ^^"^ broad) 



lateral nerves of the thin floral glumes very obscure . . 



4. E. IMLOSA. 



5. Spikelets >4 to ^4 of a line broad, appressed to the branches, 



lateral nerves of the floral glumes distinct . 5. E. Purshii. 



6. Annual, diffusely branched, panicle 2 to 6 inches long, ovate 



or oblong; spikelets crowded, pale or dark green; floral 

 glumes obtuse 6. E. major. 



6. Perennials, erect, simple or branched only at the base . . 7 



7. Panicle narrow, spikelets crowded on very short pedicels; 



flowering glumes acute and strongly nerved 



" 7. E. OXVLEPIS. 



7. Panicle widely spreading 8 



8. Primary panicle-branches rigid, widely spreading or the 



lower deflexed; spikelets purplish . . 8. E. pectinacea. 



8. Primary panicle-branches more slender; spikelets pale or 



greenish, much shorter than their capillary, flexuose, and 



diverging pedicels 9 E. tenuis, 



1. Eragrostis reptans Xees. Creeping Meadow-grass. 

 Plate XXXI. Figure 123. 



A prostrate, much branched and extensively creeping annual, 

 with ascending flowering branches three to six inches high. 

 Sheaths short, pubescent or smooth; ligule reduced to a fringe of 

 short hairs, leaf-blade one-half to one line wide, usually about one- 

 half to one and one-half inches long, more or lesspubescent, acute, 

 spreading. Panicle narrow, lax or dense, one to one and one-half 

 inches long, sometimes capitate. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, 

 strongly flattened, one line or less wide, two to six lines long, ten- 

 to forty- flowered; empty glumes ovate, acute, the first a little 

 longer than the second, hyaline excepting the prominent, green 

 mid-nerve; flowering glume ovate, lanceolate acute, three-fourths 

 to one line long, prominently three-nerved. Palea tw^o-keeled, 

 keels scabrous; grain spherical oblong. 



On usually low, sandy soil; common. August — October. Of no 

 agricultural value. 



