MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



69 



Figure 60. — Festuca sororia. Panicle, 

 X H; floret, X 5. (Baker 36, Colo.) 



18. Festuca sororia Piper. (Fig. 

 60.) Culms erect, loosely tufted, 60 

 to 90 cm. tall; blades flat, thin, 

 smooth except the scabrous margins, 

 3 to 6 mm. wide; panicle loose, open, 

 nodding, or sometimes somewhat con- 

 densed, 10 to 15 cm. long, the branches 

 solitary or in twos, naked below; 

 spikelets rather loosely 3- to 5- 

 flowered; glumes lanceolate, the first 

 about 3 mm., the second about 5 

 mm. long; lemmas membranaceous, 

 somewhat keeled, scaberulous or near- 

 ly smooth, the nerves evident but 

 not prominent, the apex tapering into 

 a fine point or an awn as much as 

 2 mm. long. % — Open woods, 

 2,000 to 3,000 m., southern Colorado 

 and Utah to New Mexico and Ari- 

 zona. 



19. Festuca versuta Beal. (Fig. 61.) 

 Culms slender, 50 to 100 cm. tall; 

 blades flat, mostly 2 to 5 mm. wide; 

 panicle open, 10 to 15 cm. long, the 

 spreading lower branches bearing a 

 few spikelets above the middle; 

 spikelets 2- to 5-flowered; glumes 

 narrow, acuminate, nearly equal, 5 

 to 6 mm. long; lemmas firm, obscurely 

 nerved at maturity, 5 to 7 mm. long, 

 acute, awnless, rarely awn-tipped. 91 

 (F. texanaY&sey; F. johnsoni Piper.) — 

 Shady banks, Arkansas, Texas, and 

 Oklahoma. 



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Figuke 61. — Festuca versuta. Panicle, X Vi; spikelet, 

 X 5. (Johnson, Tex.) 



Figure 62. — Festuca obtusa. Pan- 

 icle, X H; floret, X 5. (Amer. 

 Gr. Natl. Herb. 490, Md.) 



20. Festuca obtusa Bieler. Nod- 

 ding fescue. (Fig. 62.) Culms soli- 

 tary or few in a tuft, mostly 50 to 

 100 cm. tall; blades flat, lax, some- 

 what glossy, 4 to 7 mm. wide; panicle 

 nodding, very loose and open, the 

 branches spreading, spikelet-bearing 

 toward the ends, the lower usually 

 reflexed at maturity; spikelets 3- to 

 5-flowered; glumes about 3 and 4 

 mm. long; lemmas coriaceous, rather 

 turgid, about 4 mm. long, obtuse or 

 acutish, the nerves very obscure. % 

 — Low or rocky woods, Quebec to 

 Manitoba, south to northern Florida 

 and eastern Texas. 



21. Festuca paradoxa Desv. (Fig. 

 63.) Culms few to several in a tuft, 

 50 to 110 cm. tall, widely leaning; 

 blades flat or subinvolute in drying, 

 lax, 4 to 8 mm. wide; panicle 12 to 

 20 cm. long, heavily drooping, the 

 slender scabrous branches not so long 

 as in F. obtusa, the brownish spikelets 

 somewhat aggregate toward the ends; 

 spikelets 3- to 6-flowered, the lemmas 



