Phalaris. 



GRAMINEiE. 



419 



2. Phalaris Canariensis, Linn. Common Canary Grass. 



Panicle spike-like, oval ; glumes boat-shaped, entire at the point ; paleae hairy ; glumes of 

 the abortive flowers smooth. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 54 ; Engl. hot. t. 1310 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 100 ; 

 Trin. gram. Pan. p. 254 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 31. 



Annual. Culm 1^-2 feet high, simple, smooth. Leaves 4-5 lines wide, pale green and 

 glaucous ; the sheaths somewhat inflated. Glumes nearly twice as long as the paleae, yellowish 

 green, strongly keeled. Paleas smooth, lanceolate, acute. Abortive flowers very small, entire. 

 Caryopsis ovate, invested with the hardened shining paleae. 



Waste places, and about habitations : introduced from Europe. Fl. July - September. 



6. HOLCUS. Linn. ; Endl. gen. 754. SOFT-GRASS. 



[ Said to be from hollco, to extract ; because of its supposed virtue in drawing out thorns.] 

 Spikelets 2-flowered, polygamous. Glumes membranaceous, somewhat boat-shaped, mucro- 

 nate. Lower flower perfect, awnless : upper one staminate or neuter, pedicellate ; the 

 lower palea awned on the back above the middle. — Panicle contracted. 



1. Holcus lanatus, Linn. Meadoiv Soft-grass. 



Panicle equal ; flowers shorter than the rather obtuse mucronate glumes, upper one with a 

 curved awn ; root fibrous. — Linn. sp. 2. p. 1047 ; Engl. hot. t. 1170 ; Muhl. gram. p. 274; 

 Torr. fl. 1. p. 151 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 44 ; Beck, hot. p. 404 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 91 ; 

 Kunth, enum. 1. p. 35. 



Whole plant clothed with a soft whitish down. Root perennial. Culm 1-2 feet high. 

 Leaves flat, 3-5 lines wide ; the ligule short and truncate. Panicle more or less contracted. 

 Glumes whitish or tinged with purple, pubescent, ciliate on the keel. Flowers pedicellate. 

 Paleae smooth and shining ; the lower one keeled. Awn of the staminate flower curved or 

 hooked. 



Moist meadows : frequent. Fl. June. Introduced from Europe, and now thoroughly 

 naturalized in many places. A grass of but little value. 



7. HIEROCHLOA. Gmel. holy-grass. 



[ From the Greek, hicros, sacred, and chloa, grass ; because, in Prussia, it is used in certain religious festivals.] 



Spikelets 3-flowered : the two lower flowers staminate, triandrous and mostly awned ; the 

 uppermost one perfect, diandrous, awnless. — Smooth perennial grasses, having the odor of 

 vanilla. Flowers in open or contracted panicles : spikelets pedicellate. 



1. Hierochloa borealis, Rozm. 8f Schuit. Seneca Grass. Vanilla Grass. 



Panicle somewhat one-sided, a little spreading ; peduncles smooth ; perfect flower pointless ; 



53* 



