MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



61 



less than 1 mm. wide, often capillary, 

 soft, mostly involute, 1 to 10 cm. 

 long; panicle narrow, 5 to 20 cm. 

 long; spikelets 4- to 6-flowered, 4 to 

 5 mm. long; first glume 2 mm. long, 

 the second 3.5 mm. long; lemmas 3 

 to 3.5 mm. long, sparsely appressed- 

 pubescent; awn 6 to 11 mm. long. 

 O — Open ground, New Jersey and 

 Maryland to Florida, west to Okla- 

 homa and Texas. 



Figure 44. — Festuca sciurea. Panicle, X X A ; spikelet, 

 X 5. (Reverchon, Tex.) 



3. Festuca megalura Nutt. Fox- 

 tail fescue. (Fig. 45.) Culms 20 to 

 60 cm. tall; sheaths and narrow blades 

 glabrous; panicle narrow, 7 to 20 cm. 

 long, the branches appressed; spike- 

 lets 4- or 5-flowered; first glume 1.5 to 

 2 mm. long, the second 4 to 5 mm. 

 long; lemmas linear-lanceolate, sca- 

 brous on the back especially toward 

 the apex, ciliate on the upper half; 

 awn 8 to 10 mm. long. O — Open 



sterile ground, British Columbia to 

 Baja California, common in the Coast 

 Ranges of California, east to Mon- 

 tana and Arizona; introduced in a 

 few localities eastward; Guatemala; 

 Pacific slope of South America. In 

 mature lemmas the cilia may be ob- 

 scured by the inrolling of the edges; 

 moistening the floret will bring the 

 cilia to view. 



Figure 45. — Festuca megalura. Panicle, X 1 ; spikelet, 

 X 5. (Leiberg 150, Oreg.) 



