MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



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Figure 216. — Eragrostis lugens. Plant, X 1; floret, X 10. (Reverchon 16, Tex.) 



Figure 217. — Eragrostis trichocolea. Panicle, X 1 ; 

 floret, X 10. (Curtiss, Fla.) 



times; spikelets on long flexuous 

 pedicels, ovate to ovate-oblong, 2- 

 to 6-flowered (rarely to 8-flowered), 

 3 to 4 mm. long; glumes acuminate, 

 1.5 and 2 mm. long; lemmas rather 

 turgid, 2 mm. long, acute, the nerves 

 obscure; grain oblong, 1 mm. long, 

 minutely striate and pitted. % — 

 Dry soil, fields and open woods, 

 Maryland to Oklahoma, south to 

 Florida and eastern Texas; British 

 Honduras; introduced in Maine and 

 Massachusetts. Plants with glabrous 

 sheaths have been segregated as E. 

 hirsuta var. laevivaginata Fern. 



31. Eragrostis liigens Nees. (Fig. 

 216.) Perennial; culms tufted, rather 

 wiry, sometimes geniculate below, 

 sparingly branching; sheaths pilose 

 in the throat, sometimes along the 

 margin and on sides at summit; 

 blades subinvolute, 10 to 25 cm. long, 

 1.5 to 3 mm. wide, pilose on the upper 

 surface toward base, rarely beneath; 

 panicle rather diffuse, 15 to 30 cm. 

 long, about two-thirds as wide, the 

 axis and ascending to spreading 

 branches capillary, flexuous, the lower 

 branches in pairs or verticils, the 

 axils, except upper, conspicuously long 

 pilose; spikelets on long pedicels, 

 mostly glossy drab, 3- to 7-flowered, 

 3 to 5 mm. long, 1 to 1.2 mm. wide; 



glumes thin, 0.7 and 1.2 mm. long, 

 falling early; lemmas closely im- 

 bricate, 1.3 to 1.5 mm. long, ab- 

 ruptly acute; grain about 0.7 mm. 

 long. % — Dry prairie, Florida, 

 Louisiana, and Texas ; also on ballast, 

 Mobile, Ala.; Mexico and Venezuela 

 to Argentina. 



32. Eragrostis trichocolea Hack, 

 and Arech. (Fig. 217.) Perennial; 

 culms erect, 30 to 60 cm. tall, the 

 leaves rather short, mostly crowded 

 at the base; sheaths, at least the 

 lower, spreading, pilose ; blades spread- 

 ing, flat or, especially on the innova- 

 tions, involute, mostly 8 to 12 cm. 

 long, 2 to 4 mm. wide, pilose; panicle 

 diffuse, 15 to 20 cm. long, nearly or 

 quite as wide, the branches stiffly 

 and widely spreading, pilose in the 

 axils; pedicels 2 or 3 times as long 

 as the spikelets; spikelets 3- to 5- 

 flowered, 3 to 4 mm. long, about 1.5 

 mm. wide; glumes 1 to 1.2 and 1.3 to 

 1.5 mm. long; lemmas about 1.5 mm. 

 long. % — Sandy woods, Florida 

 (Tampa, Lakeland) and Texas ; Mexi- 

 co to Uruguay. 



33. Eragrostis erosa Scribn. (Fig. 

 218.) Perennial; culms tufted, erect, 

 50 to 90 cm. tall; blades mostly in- 

 volute; panicle diffuse, less than half 

 the entire height of the plant, usually 

 about one-third, mostly more than 

 half as wide as long, branching 2 or 

 3 times, sparsely pilose or glabrous 

 in the axils; spikelets mostly 8- to 

 9-flowered, 5 to 10 mm. long, 1.8 to 

 2 mm. wide; lemmas 2.5 to 3 mm. 

 long, hyaline-margined toward sum- 

 mit, the tip erose. % — Rocky 



