Anthoxantiium. 



GRAMINEiE. 



421 



1, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Linn. Sioeet-scented Vernal-grass. 



Panicle ovoid-oblong ; flowers pubescent, shorter than the awns. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 40 ; 

 Engl. hot. t. 647 ; Michx. fl.\. p. 39 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 65 ; Muhl. gram. p. 2 ; Ell. sk. 1. 

 p. 37 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 101 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 38. 



Root perennial, fibrous. Culm 12-18 inches high, erect, slender. Leaves more or less 

 pubescent ; the ligule membranaceous, elongated. Panicle usually contracted and almost 

 spiked, but in shady places loose and open ; the flowers somewhat fascicled on the short 

 branches. Glumes unequal, membranaceous, pubescent ; the inferior shorter and broader. 

 One of the neuter flowers with a geniculate awn at the base, of the length of the palea ; the 

 other with a shorter straight awn a little below the tip. Styles 2, short : stigmas elongated, 

 white, plumose. Caryopsis oblong, black and shining. 



Meadows, fields, and dry open woods : very common. Fl. May August. Introduced 

 from Europe, but perfectly naturalized. This grass is well known for its fine perfume when 

 partially dry. 



Tribe III. PANICEsE. Kunth. 



Spikelets 2-floivered ; the lower flower incomplete, usually neuter {rarely staminate). Glumes 

 of thinner texture than the palece ; the lower one often {and rarely both) abortive. Palea 

 more or less coriaceous, commonly aivnless ; the lower one concave. 



9. PASPALUM. Linn. ; Endl. gen. 761. P ASP ALUM. 



[ From paspalos, the Greek word for millet; in allusion to the form of the grain.] 



Spikelets 2-flowered, the glume single : lower flower neuter, of a single palea, membranaceous, 

 awnless, as long as the glume. Perfect flowers with two coriaceous awnless paleaa ; the 

 lower concave, and embracing the upper one. Stamens 3. — Flowers in unilateral linear 

 spikes, plano-convex ; the rachis not jointed : pedicels articulated. 



1. Paspalum l.iEve, Michx. Smooth Erect Paspalum. 



Culm erect, smooth, rather stout ; leaves usually smooth, hairy at the base (and sometimes 

 also the lower sheaths a little hairy) ; spikes 3-6, alternate ; spikelets in two rows, ovate- 

 orbicular, smooth. — Michx. fl. 1. p. 44 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 106 ; Muhl. gram. p. 98 ; Torr. 

 fl. 1. p. 76 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 43 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 53 ; Trin. Pan. gen. I. c. p. 160. 



Perennial. Culm 1^-3 feet high, simple. Leaves 3-5 lines wide, deep green. Spikes 

 usually 3 or 4 (sometimes only two), 2-3 inches long, spreading horizontally ; the rachis 

 flexuous, flat on the back, about half a line wide. Spikelets one on each pedicel, nearly 

 orbicular, lj line long, smooth or nearly so. Glume and palea of the neuter flower strongly 

 one-nerved, even. Palese of the perfect flower minutely dotted in lines. 



Moist grassy banks and meadows, Long Island, &c. Fl. August. Quite a variable species 

 as respects the degree of smoothness or pubescence, but easily distinguished from the fol- 

 lowing by its more numerous spikes and much larger spikelets. 



