106 FLORA. 



8. Sporobolus Virginicus (L.) Kunth. Seashore Rush-grass. (I. F. f. 

 348.) Culms 1.5-6 dm. tall, erect or sometimes decumbent, from a stout rootstock. 

 Sheaths numerous, short, overlapping and crowded at the lower part of the culm, 

 smooth, glabrous or sometimes pilose on the margins and at the throat; leaves 2.5- 

 20 cm. long, 4 mm. wide or less at the base, distichous, acuminate into a long point, 

 involute on the margins and at the apex, smooth beneath, scabrous above or some- 

 times sparingly hairy; panicle 2.5-7.5 cm. long, 4-10 mm. thick, dense and spike- 

 like, usually exserted; spikelets 2-2.5 mm - long, the outer scales about equal, acute, 

 smooth and glabrous; third scale smooth and glabrous, acute, slightly shorter than 

 the second and about equalling the obtuse palet. On sandy shores, Va. to Fla., 

 west to Tex. and Mex. f Also in Cuba. Aug. -Sept. 



9. Sporobolus Indicus (L.) R. Br. India Rush-grass. Smut-grass. 

 (I. F f. 349.) Glabrous and smooth throughout. Culms 3-12 dm. tall, erect, 

 tufted ; leaves 2-6 mm. wide, attenuate into a long slender point, the lower 

 2-3 dm. long, the upper shorter; panicle 1-4 dm. in length, usually elongated, 

 narrow, spike-like; spikelets 1.5-2 mm. long, the outer scales unequal, about 

 half as long as the third, obtuse, smooth and glabrous, the lower one shorter, 

 and often erose-truncate; third scale acute, somewhat exceeding the obtuse or 

 acutish palet. In meadows and waste places, Va. to Fla., west to Ark. and Cal. 

 Naturalized from tropical regions; very abundant in Cent, and S. Am. July-Sept. 



10. Sporobolus argutus (Nees) Kunth. Pointed Dropseed-grass. (I. F. 

 f. 350.) Culms 3 dm. tall or less, erect, or somewhat decumbent at the base. 

 Sheaths shorter than the internodes, their margins sometimes hirsute at the top; 

 leaves 2.5-5 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide at the base, acuminate, smooth and glabrous be- 

 neath, scabrous, and often sparingly hairy at the base above; panicle 3.75-7.5 

 cm. in length, the branches 1.25-2.5 cm. long, verticillate, at first appressed, 

 finally widely spreading; spikelets 1.5 mm. long; outer scales smooth and glab- 

 rous, the first rounded or obtuse, one-quarter the length of the acute second one; 

 third scale about equalling the second, acute. Kans., the Ind. Terr, and Colo., 

 south to Tex. and Mex. Also in the West Indies. July-Sept. 



11. Sporobolus gracilis (Trin.) Merr. Purple Dropseed-grass. Wire- 

 grass. (I. F. f. 351.) Glabrous and smooth throughout. Culms 3-6 dm. tall, 

 tufted, erect, slender, simple; leaves filiform or setaceous, the basal 1.5-3 dm. 

 long, numerous, those of the culm few, 2.5-7.5 cm. long; panicle 7.5-17.5 cm. in 

 length, open, the branches verticillate, the lower 2.5-5 cm - l° n &> widely spreading; 

 spikelets 2.5-3 mm. long, purple, the outer scales very unequal, the first obtuse or 

 acutish. one-fourth to one-third the length of the acute second one; third scale sub- 

 acute or blunt, equalling the second and the obtuse palet. Dry sandy soil, Va. to 

 Fla., west to Tex. Aug.-Sept. {Sporobolus jiinceus (Mx.)Kth. ; not Agrostis juncea 

 Lam.; S. ejuncidus Nash.) 



12. Sporobolus airoides Torr. Hair-grass Dropseed. (I. F. f. 352.) 

 Culms 4.5-9 dm. tall, erect, simple. Leaves smooth beneath, scabrous above and 

 sometimes sparingly hairy near the base, 1-3 mm. wide at the base, attenuate into 

 a long slender involute point, the basal about one-half as long as the culm, the 

 upper culm leaves 5-12.5 cm. in length; panicle 1.25-4 dm. long, usually exserted, 

 the branches alternate or the upper verticillate, at length widely spreading, the 

 lower 7 5-17.5 cm. long; spikelets 1. 5-2 mm. long, the scales acute, glabrous, the 

 outer unequal, the lower one about half as long as the upper; third scale equalling 

 the second and the palet. Prairies, Neb. to Cal., south to Tex. and Ariz. Aug.- 

 Sept. 



13 Sporobolus cryptandrus (Torr.) A. Gray. Sand Dropseed. (I. F. f. 

 353.) Culms 4.5-10.5 dm. tall, erect. Sheaths with a dense pilose ring at the 

 summit, the lower short, crowded and overlapping, the upper much longer, gen- 

 erally enclosing the base of the panicle; leaves 7.5— 15 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, flat, 

 glabrous beneath, scabrous above, long-acuminate; panicle 1. 5-2. 5 dm. in length, 

 the branches spreading or ascending, alternate, the lower 3.75-7.5 cm. long; spike- 

 lets 2-2.5 mm. long, the scales acute, glabrous, the outer scabrous on the keel, the 

 lower one-third as long as the upper; third scale somewhat longer or shorter than 

 tin- second. In sandy soil, coast of N. E., along all the Great Lakes, west to 

 Dak., south in the interior to Mo., Tex. and Mex. Aug. -Oct. 



14. Sporobolus heterolepis A. Gray. Northern Dropseed. (I. F. f. 354.) 



