452 MISC. PUBLICATION 200, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



2 to 3 cm. long; lemma 12 to 15 mm. 

 long; awn mostly not more than 7 or 

 8 cm. long. % —Manitoba to Al- 

 berta, Montana, South Dakota, and 

 Wyoming. 



10. Stipa comata Trin. and Rupr. 

 Xeedle-and-thread. (Fig. 647.) 

 Culms 30 to 60 cm. tall, sometimes 



Figure 647. — Stipa comata. Panicle, X Y>\ lemma, 

 X 5. (Hitchcock 1700, Colo.) 



taller; ligule thin, 3 to 4 mm. long; 

 blades 10 to 30 cm. long, 1 to 2 mm. 

 wide, flat or involute, panicle com- 

 monty included at base, narrow, 10 to 

 20 cm. long; glumes 1.5 to 2 cm. long, 

 the attenuate tips subhyaline; lemma 

 8 to 12 mm. long, mostly about 1 cm., 

 pale or finally brownish, the callus 

 about 3 mm. long, the body sparsely 

 pubescent or glabrate toward the 

 summit; awn 10 to 15 cm. long, in- 

 distinctly twice-geniculate, very slen- 

 der, loosely twisted below, flexuous 

 above, often deciduous. 21 

 Prairies, plains, and dry hills, Indiana 

 to Yukon Territory, south to Texas 

 and California, A form from Wash- 



ington with pubescent foliage has 

 been differentiated as S. comata var. 

 intonsa Piper. Stipa comata var. in- 

 termedia Scribn. and Tweedy. Dif- 

 fering from S. comata in the shorter 

 straight third segment of the awn: 

 glumes and lemma on the average a 

 little longer; panicle usually exserted. 



Figure 648. — Stipa pulchra. Panicle. X y>; lemma, 

 X 5. (Chase 5598, Calif.) 



— Canada; Montana to Washington, 

 south to New Mexico and California. 

 11. Stipa pulchra Hitchc. Purple 

 needle grass. (Fig. 648.) Culms 60 

 to 100 cm. tall; blades long, narrow, 

 flat or involute; ligule about 1 mm. 

 long; panicle nodding, about 15 to 20 

 cm. long, loose, the branches spread- 

 ing, slender, some of the lower 2.5 to 

 5 cm. long; glumes narrow, long- 

 acuminate, purplish, 3-nerved, the 

 first about 20 mm. long, the second 

 2 to 4 mm. shorter; lemma 7.5 to 13 

 mm. long, fusiform, sparingly pilose, 

 sometimes only in lines above, mi- 

 nutely papillose-roughened, the callus 

 about 2 mm. long, the summit some- 



