18 



BULLETIN 461, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



24. Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea ; fig. 28). 



A coarse, glabrous perennial with stout rootstocks ; leaves rolled in the 

 bud ; collar broad, spiral, with wavy margins ; auricles none ; ligule very- 

 long, obtuse, membranous, often torn, hairy on the back, wider than the 



sheaths; sheaths not compressed, hya- 

 line on the margins ; blades flat, rough 

 on the margins, one-half inch or more 

 wide, sharp pointed ; rootstocks more 

 than one-eighth inch in diameter. 1 



>5. Redtop (Agrostis alba; fig. 29). 



A dark-green, glabrous perennial, 

 creeping by rootstocks ; leaves rolled in 

 the bud ; collar narrow, divided into two 

 parts by a space, glabrous; auricles 

 none ; ligule membranous, thin, very 

 long, acute, finely toothed; sheaths 

 smooth, not compressed; blades flat, 

 distinctly nerved above, rough mar- 

 gined, one-fourth inch or more wide, 

 sharp pointed; rootstocks about one- 

 sixteenth inch in diameter. 



Redtop, when young, resembles timothy, from 

 which it is distinguished by its ligule, rodt- 

 Fig. 29.— Redtop (Agrostis alba). stocks, and coarsely nerved leaves. 



26. Creeping bent (Agrostis stolonifera; fig. 30, A). 



A fine-leafed glabrous perennial, creeping by rootstocks ; leaves rolled in 

 the bud ; collar narrow ; auricles none ; ligule short, rather obtuse ; sheaths 



Fig. 30. — A, Creeping bent (Agrostis stolonifera); B, velvet bent (Agrostis canina). 



smooth, not compressed; blades flat, distinctly nerved above, one-eighth 

 inch or less wide, taper pointed ; rootstocks very fine, branching, producing 

 numerous tufts. 



1 A variety of this grass called ribbon grass and grown for ornamental purposes is 

 readily recognized by its green leaves striped with white. 



