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



63. CALAMOVILFA Hack. 



Spikelets 1 -flowered, the rachilla disarticulating above the glumes, 

 not prolonged behind the palea; glumes unequal, chartaceous, 1- 

 nerved, acute; lemma a little longer than the second glume, char- 

 taceous, 1-nerved, awnless, glabrous or pubescent, the callus 

 bearded; palea about as long as the lemma. Rigid, usually tall 

 perennials, with narrow or open panicles, some species with creeping 

 rhizomes. Type species, Calamovilfa brevipilis. Name from Greek 

 kalamos, reed, and Vilfa a genus of grasses. Calamovilfa longifolia 

 is of some value for forage but is rather coarse and woody; a variety 

 of this and also C. giganiea are inland sand binders. 



Rhizomes short and thick. 



Panicle narrow, contracted 1. C. curtissii. 



Panicle subpyramidal, rather open 2. C. brevipilis. 



Rhizomes extensively creeping. 



Lemma glabrous (except for the callus hairs) 3. C. longifolia. 



Lemma villous on the back above the callus hairs 4. C. gigantea. 



1. Calamovilfa curtissii (Vasey) Scribn. (Fig. 646.) Culms 

 tufted from a short, thick horizontal rhizome, about 1 m tall; 



lower sheaths firm, overlapping, persistent; 

 blades elongate, 2 to 3 mm wide, flat to involute, 

 those of the innovations subfiliform; panicle 

 contracted but not dense, 1 5 to 20 cm long ; spike- 

 lets pale, about 5 mm long; glumes acute, the 

 first 4 mm, the second 5 mm long; lemma as 

 long as the second glume, acute, villous on the 

 IG A™mophiia bmiliguiSa. ° back below, the callus hairs 1 to 1.5 mm long; 

 palea sparsely villous along the keels. Ql 

 — Low pine barrens, East Florida; also Santa Rosa County, Fla. 



2. Calamovilfa brevipilis (Torr.) Scribn. (Fig. 647.) Culms 

 solitary or few, compressed, 60 to 120 cm tall, the base as in C. 

 curtissii; blades elongate, 2 to 3 mm wide, flat to subin volute; panicle 

 subpyramidal, rather open, 10 to 25 cm long, the branches ascending, 

 flexuous, glabrous, naked below; spikelets brownish, 5 to 6 mm 

 long; glumes acuminate, the first 2 to 2.5 mm long, the second about 4 

 mm long; lemma villous on the back below, the callus hairs 1.5 

 mm long; palea exceeding the lemma, villous on the back. Ql — 

 Marshes and river banks, New Jersey, North Carolina, rare. 



3. Calamovilfa longifolia (Hook.) Scribn. (Fig. 648.) Culms 

 mostly solitary, 50 to 180 cm tall, with strong scaly creeping rhi- 

 zomes; sheaths usually more or less appressed-villous, especially 

 near the summit; blades firm, elongate, flat or soon involute, 4 to 

 8 mm wide near base, tapering to a long fine point; panicle 15 to 35 

 cm long, rather narrow or contracted, the branches ascending or 

 appressed, sometimes slightly spreading; spikelets pale, 6 to 7 mm 

 long; glumes acuminate, the first about 2 mm shorter than the 

 second; lemma somewhat shorter than the second glume, glabrous, 

 the callus hairs copious, more than half as long as the lemma. Ql 

 — Sand hills and sandy prairies or open woods, Michigan to Alberta, 

 south to Indiana, Colorado, and Idaho (fig. 649). Calamovilfa 

 longifolia var. magna Scribn. and Merr. Panicle more open and 

 spreading. Ql — Sandy ridges and dunes along Lake Huron and 

 Lake Michigan. 



