60 



MISC. PUBLICATION 200, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



gins not scarious; awn commonly 3 

 to 5, sometimes to 7 mm. long. 

 — Open sterile ground, New York to 

 Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Texas; 

 Idaho, Washington. The species and 



its varieties are found throughout the 

 United States. 



Festuca octoflora var. tenella 

 (Willd.) Fernald. Mostly smaller; 

 panicle usually nearly simple; spike- 



Figure 43.- 



-Festuca octoflora. Plant, X Y2', spikelet, 

 X 5. (Chase 1776, Ind.) 



lets smaller; first glume 2.3 to 4 mm. 

 long, awns 1 to 5 mm. Distinctions 

 not constant, many intermediates 

 occur. O — Canada and Connecti- 

 cut to Washington, south to Virginia, 

 Tennessee, and Oklahoma; Georgia, 

 Alabama, Texas; Colorado, Nevada, 

 and New Mexico. 



Festuca octoflora var. glauca 

 (Nutt.) Fernald. Panicle shorter and 

 denser than in most specimens of 

 var. tenella; awn of lemma from 

 minute to 2 mm. long. Intergrades 

 with var. tenella. O — Indiana, Ar- 

 kansas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, 

 and Texas. 



Festuca octoflora var. hirtella 

 Piper. Commonly rather low and 

 densely tufted; foliage sometimes 

 pubescent; panicle usually rather 

 dense ; lemma hirtellous or pubescent, 

 sometimes strongly scabrous only; 

 awns mostly 2 to 4 mm. long. Inter- 

 grades with F. octoflora and with var. 

 tenella. O — British Columbia to 

 Baja California, east to Kansas and 

 Texas; Florida. 



2. Festuca sciurea Nutt. (Fig. 44.) 

 Culms erect, 15 to 50 cm. tall; blades 



