No. 36. 

 BOUTELOUA BURKEI Scribner. 



Boot-stock short, strongly rooted, thickly covered with the crowded culms. 



Culms slender, 4 to 8 inches high, with 3 to 4 nodes each. 



Leaves mostly crowded at the base, small, \ to \\ inches long, \ line wide; ligule 

 very short, ciliate ; sheaths narrow, mostly shorter than the internodes. 



Inflorescence racemose-spicate, about one-third the length of the plant, con- 

 sisting of about 5 spikes horizontal or even reflexed in age. Spikes | to | inch 

 long, of 10 to 15 spikelets, arranged in 2 rows on one side of the rachis. Spikelets 

 about 3 lines long including the awns. 



Empty glumes 2, lanceolate, 1-nerved, smooth, nearly equal ; body of the 

 flowering glume less than 1 line long, nearly as broad, pubescent on the back, divid- 

 ing into 3 lobes extended into awns ; 



Palet narrow, 2-nerved, 2-dentate at apex ; imperfect flower consisting of 3 

 awns on a short, smooth pedicel. 



Plate XXXVI; a, spike; b, spikelet; c, empty glumes; d, flowering glume; 

 e, palet ; /, imperfect flower. 



This species is closely related to B. trifida, which is somewhat larger, the empty 

 glumes narrower and unequal, and the flowering glume longer and smooth. 



