730 GRAMINKiE mdhlenbergia 



CALAMAGR08TIS 



ligules about one half line long, erose-truncate : leaves 2-5 inches long, 

 1-3 lines wide, scabrous : panicle 1-5 inches long, usually dense and inter- 

 rupted, the branches 6-12 lines long, erect or appressed : empty glumes 

 acuminate including the awn 2-3 lines long: flowering glumes % as long 

 as the outer ones, acuminate the strongly scabrous midrib excurrent as a 

 short point. In wet places, eastern Washington to Brit. Columbia and 

 the Eastern States. 



M. sylvatica Torr. Fl. U. S. 87. Stems 1-3 feet high, erect, branched, 

 smooth or sometimes scabrous : sheaths smooth or slightly scabrous, those 

 of the stem shorter than the internodes : ligules about one-half line long, 

 erose-truncate: leaves 2-7 inches long, 1-3 lines wide, rough: panicle 3-7 

 inches long, somewhat lax, the branches 1-3 inches long, erect or ascend- 

 ing: empty glumes 13^-1 jj line long, awn-pointed, scabrous: flowering 

 glume equalling or exceeding the outer ones, strongly scabrous, attenuate 

 into a slender awn 2-4 times as long as the body. In moist woods and 

 along streams Idaho to the Eastern States. 



Var. setiglumis Watson Bot. King 378. Stems 1 foot high, nearly 

 erect: panicle contracted, the branches solitary and densely flowered: 

 empty glumes attenuate into a scabrous bristle, 2-3 lines long; the flower- 

 ing glume with its long awn about twice longer. In the mountains, 

 eastern Washington to Nevada. 



M. comata Benth. Vasey Cat. Grasses U. S. 39. Stems slender, 

 erect, 12-18 inches high, smooth: sheaths shorter than the internodes, 

 smooth or slightly scabrous : ligules about one-half line long, truncate, 

 naked or minutely ciliate : leaves 2-5 inches long, 1-2 lines wide, erect, 

 flat, rough : panicle 2-4 inches long, dense, its branches 6-18 lines long, 

 erect: empty glumes equal or the upper one a little the longest, smooth, 

 scabrous on the keel : flowering glume shorter than the outer ones, smooth, 

 bearing an awn 2-3 times its length, basal hairs silky, erect, fully as long 

 as the glumes. On prairies, eastern Oregon to California and Colorado. 



16 CALAMAGROSTIS Adans. Fain. PI. ii, 31. 



Mostly perennial grasses with flat leaves and paniculate inflor- 

 escence. Spikelets one-flowered, the rachella usually prolonged 

 be} 7 ond the flower and pubescent. Empty glumes membranous, 

 carinate : flowering glume hyaline, shorter than the empty ones, 

 obtuse, usually copiously hairy at base, sometimes the hairs 

 scanty or short, and bearing a dorsal awn. Palet shorter than 

 the glume, two-nerved. Stamens 3. Styles short, distinct, with 

 plumose stigmas. Grain free, enclosed in the glume. 



C. Howellii Vasey Bot Gaz. vi, 271. Densely tufted perennial: stems 

 10-20 inches high, erect or somewhat geniculate below, smooth : sheaths 

 smooth, shorter than the internodes : ligules 1 line or more long, often 

 lacerate at the obtuse or acutish apex: radical leaves numerous, loosely 

 involute, erect, nearly equalling or exceeding the stems, persistent and 

 green for several years : panicle 3-4 inches long, its branches spreading in 

 flower, soon erect, the lower 6-18 lines long: empty glumes 2-3 lines long, 

 nearly equal, lanceolate, acute, strongly keeled, the mid-rib prolonged into 

 a short awn: flowering glume slightly shorter than the outer ones ovate- 

 lanceolate, acute, the apex with 2 mucronate pointed teeth, the strong awn 

 inserted about the lower third, half an inch long: palet shorter than its 

 glume: basal hairs about half as long as the flower. On cliffs along the 

 Columbia river near the Cascades. 



C. purpurascens R. Br. Richards. App. Frankl Journ. 131. Rather 

 rigid cespitose perennial: sterna erect, simple, smooth and shining, or 





