MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



163 



cm. long, 1 to 3 mm. wide; panicle 

 erect, open, 10 to 15 cm. long, 5 to 

 8 cm. wide, the axils glabrous or 

 nearly so, the branches ascending to 

 spreading, flexuous; spikelets linear, 

 mostly 9- to 15-flowered, 5 to 10 mm. 

 long, about 1.5 mm. wide, pinkish 

 or purplish, the flexuous pedicels 

 spreading, 2 to 5 mm. long; glumes 

 acutish, about 1 mm. and 1.5 mm. 

 long; lemmas 1.5 to 2 mm. long, 

 rather soft, loosely imbricate, the 

 lateral nerves distinct; palea some- 

 what persistent; grain about 0.7 mm. 

 long. 9[ — Sandy soil, known only 

 from Sanibel Island, Fla. 



39. Eragrostis trichodes (Nutt.) 



Wood. (Fig. 224.) Perennial; culms 

 tufted, erect, 60 to 120 cm. tall; 

 sheaths pilose at the summit, some- 

 times on the upper half; blades flat 

 to subinvolute, elongate, 2 to 6 mm. 

 wide, tapering to a slender point, 

 scabrous on the upper surface; panicle 

 usually purplish, diffuse, oblong, us- 

 ually about half the entire height of 

 the culm, branching 3 or 4 times, the 

 branches capillary, loosely ascending, 

 sparsely pilose in the axils; spikelets 

 long-pediceled, lanceolate to ovate- 

 oblong, mostly 4- to 6-flowered, 4 to 

 7 mm. long; glumes acuminate, nearly 



Figure 224. — Eragrostis trichodes. Panicle, X 1 ; floret, X 10. (Reverchon, Tex.) 



38. Eragrostis silveana Swallen. 

 (Fig. 223.) Perennial; culms densely 

 tufted, erect from a knotty base, 

 40 to 50 cm. tall; sheaths glabrous; 

 blades flat or loosely involute in 

 drying, elongate, 3 mm. wide, at- 

 tenuate to a fine point, glabrous; 

 panicle 25 to 35 cm. long, 10 to 15 

 cm. wide, the viscid scabrous branches 

 stiffly ascending or spreading, naked 

 at base, sparsely pilose in the axils; 

 spikelets purplish, 4- to 8-flowered, 

 2.5 to 4 mm. long, the ultimate 

 pedicels short, usually appressed; 

 glumes about 1 mm. long; lemmas 

 acute, about 1.3 mm. long, the lat- 

 eral nerves prominent. 91 — Open 

 ground, southern Texas. 



equal, 2.5 to 3 mm. long, about as 

 long as the first floret; lemmas 2.5 to 

 3 mm. long, acute, subcompressed, 

 the keel and lateral nerves strong; 

 grain 1 mm. long, minutely pitted; 

 anthers a little more than 1 mm. 

 long. 91 — Sand barrens and open 

 sandy woods, Illinois to Colorado and 

 Texas. 



40. Eragrostis pilifera Scheele. 

 (Fig. 225.) Resembling E. trichodes, 

 often in smaller tufts and taller; pan- 

 icle stramineous or golden bronze; 

 spikelets linear, 8- to 15-flowered, 8 to 

 12 mm. long; glumes and lemmas 

 about 3 mm. long. 91 (E. grandi- 

 flora Smith and Bush.)— Sand hills 



