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



stiffly spreading, naked below, those 

 of the branches smaller, sometimes 

 included in the sheath; spikelets ob- 

 long, closely appressed to the branch- 

 lets, about 3 mm. long and 1 mm. 

 wide, sparsely hispidulous, the keels 

 short-hispid. 01 — Low woods and 

 moist places, Quebec to South Da- 

 kota, south to Florida and Texas. 



4. Leersia hexandra Swartz. (Fig. 

 811.) Culms slender, weak, usually 

 long-decumbent from a creeping and 

 rooting base, with slender rhizomes 

 and extensively creeping leafy stolons; 

 the flowering culms upright; blades 

 rather stiff, 2 to 5 mm. wide; panicle 



Figure 810. — Leersia virginica, X 1. (French, Iowa.) 



weak, branching, 50 to 120 cm. tall, 

 with clusters of very scaly rhizomes 

 much stouter than the culm base; 

 blades relatively short, 6 to 12 mm. 

 wide; panicle open, 10 to 20 cm. long, 

 the capillary branches rather distant, 



Figure 811. — Leersia hexandra, X 1. (Wurzlow, La.) 



Figure 812. — Leersia monandra, X 1. (Nealley, Tex.) 



narrow, 5 to 10 cm. long, the branches 

 ascending or appressed, floriferous 

 nearly to the base; spikelets oblong, 

 about 4 to 5 mm. long, a little more 

 than 1 mm. wide, often purplish, 

 sparsely hispidulous, the keels bristly 

 ciliate. 01 — Shallow water, ditches, 

 and wet places near the coast, Vir- 

 ginia to Florida and Texas; widely 

 distributed in the tropics of both 

 hemispheres. 



5. Leersia monandra Swartz. (Fig. 

 812.) Culms tufted, erect, wiry, 50 

 to 100 cm. tall, without rhizomes; 

 sheaths smooth or nearly so; blades 

 elongate, 1 to 5 mm. wide; panicle 

 open, the capillary solitary branches 

 spreading, naked below, the small 

 spikelets near the ends; spikelets 

 pale, broadly ovate, glabrous, about 



