MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



341 



7. Agrostis nigra With. Black 

 bent. (Fig. 466.) Culms long-de- 

 cumbent at base, also with rather 

 stout leafy stolons, the fertile branches 

 ascending or erect, 20 to 30 cm. tall; 

 ligule as in A . alba; panicle brownish, 

 open as in A. alba, but on the aver- 

 age more condensed along the 

 branches, the base usually partly 

 included. % — Sometimes found 

 mixed with "South German" bent 

 (creeping bent), hence may be a 

 constituent of lawns grown from im- 

 ported seed; Europe. 



8. Agrostis alba L. Redtop. (Fig. 

 467.) Differing from A. stolonifera in 

 its usually erect more robust culms, 

 sometimes as much as 1 to 1.5 m. 

 tall, the base erect or decumbent, 

 with strong creeping rhizomes; blades 

 flat, 5 to 10 mm. wide; panicle py- 

 ramidal-oblong, reddish, as much as 

 20 cm. long, the branches spreading 

 in anthesis, sometimes contracting 

 later; lemmas rarely awned % (A. 

 gigantea Roth.) — This is the common 

 redtop cultivated for meadows, pas- 

 tures, and lawns, extensively escaped 

 in all the cooler parts of. the United 

 States; Eurasia. This form appears 

 not to be native in America. Plants 

 growing without cultivation often 

 have pale panicles and may tend to 





Figure 468. — A, Agrostis tenuis. Panicle, X 1 ; glumes, 

 floret, and ligule, X 5. (Waghorne, Newfoundland.) 

 B, Var. aristata. Floret, X 5. (Gayle 786, Maine.) 



take on the aspect of A. stolonifera. 

 This and the two preceding are 

 closely allied and appear to inter- 

 grade. The name A. palustris has been 

 erroneously applied to this species. 



9. Agrostis tenuis Sibth. Colonial 

 bent. (Fig. 468, A.) Culms slender, 

 erect, tufted, usually 20 to 40 cm. 

 tall, with short stolons but no creep- 

 ing rhizomes; ligule short, less than 

 1 mm. or on the culm as much as 2 

 mm. long; blades mostly 5 to 10 cm. 

 long, 1 to 3 mm. wide ; panicle mostly 

 5 to 10 cm. long, open, delicate, the 

 slender branches naked below, the 

 spikelets not crowded. % (A. vul- 

 garis With.) — Cultivated for pastures 

 and lawns in the northeastern United 

 States; escaped and well established 

 throughout those regions; Newfound- 

 land south to North Carolina, West 

 Virginia, and Michigan; British Co- 

 lumbia to Montana and California; 

 Europe. This species appears not to 

 be native in America; it has been 

 referred to A. capillaris L., a distinct 

 species of Europe. In older works 

 this has been called Rhode Island 

 bent. Forms of this species are some- 

 times called Prince Edward Island, 

 New Zealand, Rhode Island Colonial, 

 Astoria, and Colonial bent. Highland 

 bent is an aberrant form which may 

 be a distinct species. 



Agrostis tenuis var. aristata 

 (Parnell) Druce. (Fig. 468, B.) Differ- 

 ing from A. tenuis in having lem- 

 ma awned from near the base, the 

 awn usually geniculate and exceeding 

 the glumes. % — Fields and open 

 woods, Nova Scotia and Quebec to 

 North Carolina; Alaska to Van- 

 couver Island; northern California; 

 Europe. This form appears to be 

 native, at least in the more northerly 

 part of its range. 



10. Agrostis humilis Vasey. (Fig. 

 469.) Culms low, tufted, mostly not 

 more than 15 cm. tall; leaves mostly 

 basal, the blades flat or folded, 

 usually not more, than 1 mm. wide; 

 panicle narrow, purple, 1 to 3 cm. 

 long, the branches appressed to some- 

 what spreading; spikelets about 2 



