TlIK (iRASSKH OF TKNNKSSKE. 129 



lets lanceolate, one to three inches lonj:^, ten- to hfteen-flowered; 

 lower eni])ty glumes unequal, the first one to three, the second four 

 to eight lines long; flowering glumes about eight lines long, nine- 

 to eleven-nerved, pubescent on the back, margins hirsute, awn- 

 pointed. 



This is the largest of our grasses, and forms the well-known 

 cane brakes of the South. The hard woody stems vary from one- 

 half an inch to nearly three inches in diameter at the base, and 

 gradually taper to the summit. After blooming, the plants die, 

 but at just what age they come into bloom is not known. All 

 kinds of stock are fond of the young plants which grow up rapidly 

 in rich soil, and in the winter months the leaves and young shoots 

 afford a considerable amount of forage for grazing animals. Cane 

 serves a great variety of purposes. It is used for fishing poles, 

 scaffolding, blow-guns, pipe stems, water pipes, splints for baskets, 

 chair-bottoms, mats, etc. 



2. Arundinaria tecta Muhl. Small-cane. Switch-cane. 



Plate XLVII. Figure 187. 



Perennial, cespitose, three to fifteen feet high, glabrous, suffru- 

 ticose, branching towards the summit, with terminal simple ra- 

 cemes. Sheaths longer than the internodes; ligule bristly; leaves 

 lanceolate, flat pubescent beneath, four to twelve lines wide; ra- 

 cemes at the summit of the branches or frequently on leafless radi- 

 cal culms. wSpikelets ten' to fifteen lines long, seven- to ten- 

 flowered, on pubescent pedicels an inch long; empty glumes une- 

 qual, the first very small, slightly ciliate, flowering glume acumi- 

 nate-pointed and slightly ciliate on the margins; palea shorter 

 than its glume. Rarely found in bloom. 



Arundinaria tecta has been treated by some authors as a variety of 

 Arundinaria gigantea. Although possibly not specifically distinct, 

 the two are found growing together under like conditions, and 

 under these circumstances the one is readily distinguished from 

 the other. Arundinaria tecta grows as far north as Maryland. 



