70 



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



ceous, somewhat keeled, scaberulous or nearly smooth, the nerves 



evident but not prominent, the 

 apex tapering into a fine point or 

 an awn as much as 2 mm long. 

 Ql —Open woods, 2,000 to 

 3,000 m, southern Colorado and 

 Utah to New Mexico and Ari- 

 zona (fig. 82). 



20. Festuca versuta Beal. 

 (Fig. 83.) Culms slender, 50 to 

 100 cm tall; blades flat, mostly 

 2 to 5 mm wide; panicle open, 

 10 to 15 cm long, the spreading 

 spikelets above the middle; 

 narrow, 



Figure 81.— Festuca sororia. 

 X 5. (Baker 3 



Panicle, X H; floret, 

 Colo.) 



glumes 



Figure 82.— Distribution of 

 Festuca sororia. 



lower branches bearing a few 

 spikelets 2- to 5-flowered 

 acuminate, nearly equal, 5 to 6 mm long; 

 lemmas firm, obscurely nerved at maturity, 5 

 to 7 mm long, acute, awnless. % (F. texana 

 Vasey; F. johnsoni Piper.) — Shady banks, 

 Texas and Oklahoma. 



21. Festuca obtusa Spreng. Nodding 

 fescue. (Fig. 84.) Culms solitary or few in 

 a tuft, mostly 50 to 100 cm tall; blades flat, 4 

 to 7 mm wide ; panicle very loose and open, the branches spreading 



spikelet-b earing toward the ends, the lower usu- 

 ally reflexed 



at maturity; ^ 



spikelets 3- 



to5,flowered; 



glumes about 



3 and 4 mm 



long ; lemmas 



coriaceous, 



rather turgid, 



about 4 mm 



long, obtuse 



or acutish, 



the nerves 



very obscure. 

 |f rocky woods, Quebec to 



Manitoba, south to north- 

 ern Florida and eastern 



Texas (fig. 85). 

 22. Festuca shortii Kunth. 



(Fig. 86.) Resembling F. 



Figure 83.— Festuca versuta. obflLSd; CulniS tufted; pani- 



?to e nn? nr 2 T £ kelet ' X cle nodding, less open than 



in F. obtusa, the branches 



arched-drooping, the spikelets somewhat crowded toward the ends; 



spikelets 3- to 6-flowered. % — Prairies, low, open ground, and 



Figure &<±— Festuca obtusa. Panicle, X Vi, floret, X 5. 

 (Amer. Gr. Nat. Herb. 490, Md.) 



% (F. nutans Spreng.) — Low or 



Figure 85.— Distribution of 

 Festuca obtusa. 



