312 



MISC. PUBLICATION 200, IT. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



low timber line, Alberta and Mon- 

 tana to New Mexico. 



6. Danthonia califdrnica Boland. 

 California oatgrass. (Fig. 421.) 

 Culms 30 to 100 cm. tall, glabrous, 

 tending to disarticulate at the nodes; 

 sheaths glabrous, pilose at the throat; 

 blades mostly 10 to 20 cm. long, flat 

 or, especially those of the innova- 

 tions, involute, glabrous; panicle bear- 

 ing mostly 2 to 5 spikelets, the pedicels 

 slender, spreading or somewhat re- 

 flexed, more or less flexuous, 1 to 2 

 cm. long, a rather prominent pul- 

 vinus at the base of each; glumes 15 

 to 20 mm. long (rarely less or more) ; 

 lemmas, excluding awns, 8 to 10 mm. 

 long, pilose on the lower part of the 

 margin and on the callus, otherwise 

 glabrous, the teeth long-aristate; 

 terminal segment of awn 5 to 10 mm. 

 long; palea subacute, usually ex- 

 tending beyond base of awn. % — 

 Meadows and open woods, Montana 

 to British Columbia, south to Colo- 

 rado, New Mexico, and California. 



Danthonia californica var. 

 Americana (Scribn.) Hitchc. Culms 

 on the average shorter, the tufts 

 usually more spreading ; foliage sparse- 

 ly to conspicuous^ spreading-pilose; 

 spikelets on the average smaller, but 

 large plants with large spikelets occur, 

 with conspicuously pilose foliage. 

 % — Montana and Wyoming to 

 British Columbia, south to California; 

 Chile. D. macounii Hitchc. appears 

 to belong here, differing in having 

 lemmas sparsely pilose on the back. 

 Known only from Nanaimo, Van- 

 couver Island (Macoun 78825). 



7. Danthonia unispicata (Thurb.) 

 Munro ex Macoun. One-spike oat- 

 grass. (Fig. 422.) Culms 15 to 25 

 cm. tall, in dense spreading tufts; 

 sheaths and blades pilose, the hairs 

 on the sheaths spreading or reflexed; 

 panicle reduced to a single spikelet 

 or sometimes 2, rarely 3, spikelets, 

 the lower usually reduced, their 

 pedicels appressed or ascending, the 

 long pedicel of the terminal spikelet 

 jointed with the culm; spikelets on 

 the average smaller than in D. 



californica; lemmas usually glabrous, 

 the callus hairy. % — Open or 

 rocky ground, Montana to British 

 Columbia, south to Colorado and 

 California. 



Figure 422. — Danthonia unispicata, X 2. (Davy, 

 Calif.) 



Danthonia pil6sa R. Br. Tufted,. 30 to 

 60 cm. tall, the foliage loosely pilose; panicle 

 narrow, several-flowered; spikelets about 6- 

 flowered; glumes 13 to 14 mm. long; florets 

 disarticulating with a sharp hairy callus, the 

 lemma pilose at base and on the margin, 

 often with a few hairs in the middle of the 

 back; teeth with slender awns 6 to 8 mm. 

 long, the central awn 12 to 15 mm. long. % 

 — Introduced from Australia, escaped in 

 Humboldt, Alameda, and Santa Barbara 

 Counties, Calif. 



Danthonia semi annularis (Labill.) R. 

 Br. Tufted, 40 to 100 cm. tall, often rather 

 robust; foliage glabrous or nearly so; panicle 

 many-flowered; glumes mostly 10 to 15 mm. 

 long; florets with a slender hairy callus, the 

 lemma pilose at base and with a conspicuous 

 row of long tufted hairs across the middle; 

 teeth tipped with slender awns, 5 to 8 mm. 

 long, the central awn 10 to 20 cm. long. % 

 — Introduced from Australia; planted on 

 range lands in California and escaped in 

 several localities in the State. Extremely 

 variable with several varieties. 



Danthonia purpurea (Thunb.) Beauv. 

 ex Roem. and Schult. Densely tufted peren- 

 nial, forming thick mats of filiform curly 

 pilose leaves; culms very slender, 1 to 2 cm. 

 tall, with few short blades; panicle sub- 

 capitate, of few to several spikelets on short 

 slender pedicels; spikelets about 8 mm. 

 long; glumes dark purple fading to brown; 

 florets about 4 mm. long, with a slender 

 hairy callus, the lemma pilose at base and 

 with small tufts of white hairs across the 

 middle of the back; awn 2 to 3 mm. long, 

 •21 — Introduced from South Africa, grown 

 in the grass garden of University of Cali- 

 fornia, Berkeley. 



