428 



GRAMINEiE. 



Panicum. 



p. 749 ; Michx. fl. 1. p. 49 ; Torr. I. c. ; Darlingt. I. c. P. barbulatum, Michx. I. c. P. 

 ramulosum, Michx. I. c. P. microcarpon, Muhl. I. c. ? ; Darlingt. I. c. 



Perennial. Culm 8-24 inches high, at first simple, mostly erect, but sometimes procum- 

 bent (especially when growing in tufts in open places), smooth or pubescent. Radical leaves 

 short and very broad, often purplish and usually smoothish ; those of the culm narrower and 

 much longer, spreading, smooth or hairy : sheaths pubescent, villous or sometimes smooth. 

 Primary panicle more or less exserted and usually rather compound, often purplish ; the 

 branches mostly flexuous. Late in the season, this panicle breaks off, and the culm produces 

 branches which are usually fastigiate and crowded, with small simple panicles, either exserted, 

 or partly concealed among the clusters of leaves. Spikelets scarcely more than half a line 

 long, obtuse. Lower glume broadly ovate ; upper one 7-nerved. Neuter flower with the 

 upper palea less than half the length of the lower. Perfect flower ovate, smooth and shining, 

 as long as the upper glume. 



Moist meadows, fields and woods : common. Fl. July - September. An extremely variable 

 species ; its size, mode of growth, etc. depending much on the nature of the soil, exposure, 

 and the age of the plant. In shady thickets it grows very tall, and is at first quite simple, 

 with a single panicle on a long peduncle. In sterile and more exposed places, it is of much 

 more humble growth, with the primary panicle but little exserted. At maturity, the spikelets 

 fall off, and commonly the stalk of the panicle separates in the sheath, while the culm be- 

 comes branched, often very much so, with numerous secondary and smaller panicles. Some- 

 times dwarf states of the plant occur, with the culms only a few inches high. The leaves and 

 sheaths vary from nearly or quite smooth to villous. This species was described by Gronovius 

 and Linnaeus, in its autumnal state. 



12. Panicum verrucosum, Muhl. Warty-Jloivered Panic-grass. 



Culm slender, smooth, decumbent and geniculate, branching from the base and often diffuse; 

 panicle capillary, widely spreading, few-flowered ; spikelets ovate ; flowers verrucose (dark 

 green) ; neuter flower without an upper palea. — Muhl. gram. p. 113 ; Torr. fl. I. p. 148 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 396 ; Trin. diss. 2. p. 235, and Pan. gen. I. c. p. 216. P. debile, Ell. sk. 1. 

 p. 129. 



Annual? Culm 1-2 feet long, very slender, much branched ; the nodes smooth. Leaves 

 2-3 lines wide, spreading, deep green, smooth. Panicles lateral and terminal, loose, con- 

 sisting of few capillary somewhat flexuous branches. Spikelets fths of a line long. Lower 

 glume very short ; upper one roughened with minute warts. Palea of the neuter flower 

 resembling the upper glume. Perfect flower smooth and dull. 



Sandy swamps, Long Island. Fl. August - September. A well marked species, easily 

 distinguished by its capillary loose panicle and verrucose spikelets. 



