MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



awn-pointed ; lemmas awned, the awn 

 1 to 2 times as long as the body, erect 

 to spreading. % — Open woods, 

 copses, and dry hills at low and medi- 

 um altitudes, Ontario and Michigan 

 to southern Alaska, south through 

 South Dakota and Colorado to New 

 Mexico and California; Iowa, Mis- 

 souri, and Arkansas. Exceedingly va- 

 riable, the commonest form is loosely 

 tufted, with lax blades 10 to 15 mm. 

 wide and somewhat nodding spike, 

 but plants with narrower blades and 

 stiff spikes are frequent, the extreme 

 form differentiated as E. angustifolius 

 Davy. The original specimen de- 

 scribed by Buckley is a rather small 

 plant intermediate in blades and 

 spike. Elymus glaucus var. jepsoni 

 Davy. Sheaths and blades pubescent. 

 % — British Columbia to Califor- 

 nia; Montana and Nevada. 



257 



Figure 347. — Elymus virescens, X 1. (Flett, Wash.) 



16. Elymus virescens Piper. (Fig. 

 347.) Resembling E. glaucus and 

 nearly as variable in habit, often de- 

 cumbent at base; sheaths from gla- 

 brous to retrorsely pubescent, blades 

 2 to 12 mm. wide, glabrous to harsh- 

 puberulent; spike 5 to 15 cm. long, 

 dense, spikelets imbricate; glumes 

 flat, 1 to 2 mm. wide, strongly nerved, 

 pointed or awn-tipped; lemmas gla- 

 brous to scabrous, barely awn-tipped 

 or with an awn 1 to 4 mm. long. % 

 Moist woods, southern Alaska to 

 California. 



17. Elymus hirsutus Presl. (Fig. 

 348.) Culms solitary or in small tufts, 



Figure 348. — Elymus hirsutus, X 5. (Thompson 7332, 

 Wash.) 



50 to 140 cm. tall, rather weak; blades 

 flat, lax, 4 to 10 mm. wide, scabrous; 

 spike drooping, mostly loose, the 

 rachis exposed; spikelets mostly about 

 15 mm. long; glumes about 1 mm. 

 wide, strongly nerved, awned; lem- 

 mas sparsely long-hirsute along the 

 margin toward the summit, some- 

 times coarsely pubescent on the back, 

 the slender awn flexuous or divergent, 

 1.5 to 2 cm. long. % —Moist 

 woods or open ground, Alaska to 

 Oregon. 



18. Elymus macounii Vasey. 

 Macoun wild-rye. (Fig. 349.) Culms 



