MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



117 



scabrous below the panicle, 30 to 100 

 cm. tall; sheaths retrorsely scabrous 

 or scaberulous, at least toward the 

 summit; ligule 4 to 6 mm. long; blades 

 scabrous, 2 to 4 mm. wide; panicle ob- 

 long, 6 to 15 mm. long, the lower 

 branches about 5 in a whorl ; spikelets 

 usually 2- or 3-flowered, about 3 mm. 

 long; lemma 2.5 to 3 mm. long, gla- 

 brous except the slightly pubescent 

 keel, or lateral nerves rarely pubes- 

 cent, the web at base conspicuous, the 

 nerves prominent. % — Moist 



wet shady places, Vancouver Island 

 to the coast mountains of Oregon. 



25. Poa alsodes A. Gray. (Fig. 

 139.) Culms in lax tufts, 30 to 60 cm. 

 tall; blades thin, lax, 2 to 5 mm. 

 wide; panicle 10 to 20 cm. long, very 

 open, the slender branches in distant 

 whorls of threes to fives, finally widely 

 spreading, naked below, few-flowered ; 

 spikelets 2- or 3-flowered, about 5 

 mm. long; lemmas gradually acute, 

 webbed at base, pubescent on the 

 lower part of the keel, otherwise 



Figuke 137.— Poa trivialis. Panicle, X 1 ; floret, X 10. (Coville, N. Y.) 



places, Newfoundland and Ontario to 

 North Carolina, Minnesota, South 

 Dakota, and Colorado ; on the Pacific 

 coast from southern Alaska to north- 

 ern California; on ballast, Louisiana; 

 introduced from Europe. Sometimes 

 used in mixtures for meadows and 

 pastures under the name rough- 

 stalked meadow grass. 



24. Poa marcida Hitchc. (Fig. 

 138.) Culms erect, in small tufts, 40 

 to 100 cm. tall; ligule very short; 

 blades thin, 1 to 3 mm. wide; panicle 

 drooping, narrow, 10 to 18 cm. long, 

 the capillary branches somewhat dis- 

 tant, solitary or in pairs, ascending or 

 appressed; spikelets mostly 2-flow- 

 ered; glumes about 3 mm. long; lem- 

 mas narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, 

 4 to 5 mm. long, glabrous, long- 

 webbed at base. % — Bogs and 



glabrous, faintly nerved. % — Rich 

 or moist woods, Ontario and Maine 

 to Minnesota, south to Delaware and 

 the mountains of North Carolina and 

 Tennessee. 



26. Poa languida Hitchc. (Fig. 

 140.) Culms weak, in loose tufts, 30 

 to 60 or even 100 cm. tall; ligule 

 about 1 mm. long; blades lax, 2 to 

 4 mm. wide; panicle nodding, 5 to 

 10 cm. long, the few slender branches 

 mostly in twos or threes, ascending, 

 few-flowered toward the ends; spike- 

 lets 2- to 4-flowered, 3 to 4 mm. long; 

 lemmas 2 to 3 mm. long, glabrous 

 except the webbed base, oblong, 

 rather obtuse, at maturity firm. % 

 (P. debilis Torr., not Thuill.)— Dry 

 or rocky woods, Newfoundland and 

 Quebec to Wisconsin, south to Penn- 

 sylvania, Kentucky, and Iowa. 



