TlIK CiKASSES OK TENNESSEE. Ill 



flowered; empty j^lumes unequal, acute, the first one-nerved, the 

 second ihrec-nerved, scabrous on the keels; flowerinj^ jjlumes 

 tive-nerved; in the fertile plant the nerves are hairy and there is a 

 very copious tuft of lonjj^ cobwebby hairs at the base; in the sterile 

 or staininatc plants the llowerin^ flumes are smooth. Paleas two- 

 keeled, keels hispid and subaristate-pointed. Staminate and pis- 

 tillate plants alike, ditferinj; only in the woolliness of the flowering 

 flumes. 



This grass was first discovered in Texas, where it is a native, 

 and is now being cultivated in several of the Southern States. It 

 has strong, creeping roots (rhizomes), and forms a dense turf. It 

 is especially well adapted for permanent pastures. Owing to the 

 unusual woolliness of the seeds, it is easiest propagated by root- 

 cuttings. Both seeds and root-cuttings may be obtained from the 

 leading seedsmen of New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, \'a., Au- 

 gusta, Ga., New Orleans, etc. This grass remains green here 

 throughout the year, making its chief growth during the winter 

 months, and blooms during the latter part of April or May. 



55. GLYCERIA R. Br. Prod. I, 179. (1810.) 



Spikelets few- to many-flowered, terete or slightly flattened, in 

 narrow or spreading panicles; rachilla articulated between the 

 florets, usually snooth. Flowers hermaphrodite or the uppermost 

 imperfect. Empty glumes at the base of the spikelet two, un- 

 equal, shorter than the flowering glumes, obtuse or acute, one- to 

 three-nerved. Flowering glumes smooth or scabrous, rounded on 

 the back, herbaceous, excepting at the scarious and usually blunt 

 apex, five- to nine-nerved, nerves usually prominent and parallel. 

 Palea a little shorter than the glume, two-nerved. Stamens two 

 or three. Styles short, distinct; stigmas plumose. Grain oblong, 

 smooth, free, or when dry slightly adherent to the palea 



Usually tall, aquatic, perennial grasses, with flat leaves and gen- 

 erally diffuse terminal panicles. 



Species about sixteen, widely dispersed in the temperate regions of 

 both hemispheres, chiefly North American. Tennessee species five. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



I. Spikelets ovate or oblong, i to 4 lines long 2 



1. Spikelets linear, 6 to 12 lines long 5 



2. Panicle narrow, elongated (6 to 12 inches); spikelets 3- to 



4-flowered, appressed to the erect branches 3. G. elongata. 



2. Panicles diffuse 3 



3. Culms slender, ascending from a creeping or decumbent 



base: panicle nearly simple; spikelets narrow, 3 to 4 lines 

 long; flowering glume minutely dentate . 4. G. pallida. 



3. Culms stouter, erect, panicle compound, spikelets ovate or 



oblong, I to 3 lines long 4 



4. Culms 3 to 5 feet high; sheaths mostly smooth; panicle usu- 



ally 10 to 12 inches long i. G. aquatica. 



4. Culms I to 3 feet high; sheaths strongly scabrous; panicle 

 usually 4 to 5 inches long 2. G. nervata. 



