440 



GRAMINEyE. 



VlLFA. 



4. Vilfa heterolepis, Gray. Strong-scented Vilfa. 



Leaves setaceous ; panicle pyramidal, sparsely flowered ; lower glume subulate ; the 

 upper one ovate, cuspidate, about twice the length of the lower ; paleag nearly equal, point- 

 less, a little shorter than the upper glume. — Gray in ann. lyc. N. York, 3. p. 233 ; Sullivant, 

 cat. pi. Columb. p. 61. 



Perennial. Culm 1-2 feet high, smooth. Leaves convolute-setaceous, the lower ones 

 equaling the culm ; the upper much shorter : lower sheaths hairy ; upper ones smooth. 

 Panicle pyramidal, spreading or somewhat contracted ; the branches solitary, nearly simple, 

 few and loosely flowered. Glumes purplish ; the lower one reduced to a mere bristle : upper 

 one membranaceous, smooth, ovate or ovate-oblong, one-nerved ; the nerve produced into a 

 short cusp. Paleas rather obtuse, oblong-lanceolate, thin and membranaceous ; the upper one 

 a little shorter than the lower. Stamens 3 : anthers large, linear, orange-red. Styles very 

 short : stigmas hairy. Caryopsis somewhat globose, smooth and shining. 



On rocks, Watertown, Jefferson county {Dr. Crawe ; Dr. Gray). Mr. Sullivant remarks 

 that this grass emits a strong odor like that of Poa Eragrostis, which is perceptible at the 

 distance of three or four feet. 



5. Vilfa cryptandra. Large-panicled Vilfa. 



Panicle pyramidal, the base usually inclosed in the upper sheath, with spreading mostly 

 alternate branches, which are hairy in the axils ; spikelets racemose ; flowers awnless ; lower 

 glume very short ; the upper one as long as the nearly equal lanceolate acute paleas ; sheaths 

 bearded at the throat. — Agrostis cryptandra, Torr. in ann. lyc. N. York, 1. p. 151. 



Perennial. Culm 1^-3 feel high, simple, leafy, smooth. Leaves 2-3 lines long, smooth 

 on both sides : sheaths pubescent along the margin, and densely bearded at the throat, the 

 rest smooth. Panicle large, mostly of a dull bluish color, bursting from the upper sheath, 

 which partly conceals its base ; the branches bearing the numerous spikelets in a dense 

 racemose manner. Glumes smooth, acute ; the lower one about half the length of the upper, 

 without nerves except the midrib : upper one lanceolate. Paleee a little rough on the keel. 

 Stamens 3 : anthers yellowish. Styles distinct : stigmas white. Caryopsis ovoid, reddish 

 brown. Scales 2, lanceolate, collateral. 



Banks of the Erie canal, near Buffalo, in sandy soils (Dr. Aiken). Fl. August. This 

 species was first found by Dr. James, in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. It has 

 since been detected in Ipswich, Massachusetts, by Mr. Oakes, and I have specimens of it 

 from several other parts of the United States. 



