Agrostis. 



GRAMINE^E. 



443 



palea oblong, rather acute, with a tuft of short hairs on each side of the base ; the awn very 

 slender, a little bent near the middle : upper palea very manifest, obtuse. Caryopsis obovate. 



Sandy field near the outlet of Oneida Lake. I refer this grass, with some hesitation, to A. 

 stricta, Willd. It is nearly allied to A. rupestris, Willd., but may be only an awned variety 

 of A. alba. In the above mentioned locality it seems to be an introduced species. 



5. Agrostis canina, Linn. var. 1 tenella. Bent-grass. 



Panicle loose, somewhat contracted ; the branches mostly in threes, slightly hispid ; glumes 

 nearly equal, lanceolate, very acute, rough on the keel; lower palea narrowly lanceolate, 

 rather acute, with a geniculate awn rather below the middle ; the awn about twice the length 

 of the flower ; upper palea nearly wanting ; leaves linear, flat. 



Culm about a foot high, slender, smooth. Leaves a little more than a line wide, nearly 

 smooth, as are the sheaths : ligule oblong. Panicle 3-4 inches long, very slender ; the 

 branches somewhat flexuous. Spikelets somewhat larger than in A. laxiflora. Glumes 

 narrowly lanceolate, smooth on the sides; Lower palea with a few very short hairs at the 

 base, rather shorter than the glumes ; the awn on the back geniculate near the middle. 



Mountains in the northern part of the State. Fl. early in August. This grass differs 

 from A. canina in its less diffuse panicle, narrow glumes and flat leaves, and yet I know of 

 no other species to which it is more nearly allied. 



20. BRACHYELYTRUM. Beauv. Agrost. p. 39. t. 9. /. 2. brachyelytrum. 



[From the Greek, brachys, short, and elytron, a covering ; in allusion to the short glumes.] 

 Glumes 2, very minute ; the lower one scarcely perceptible. Lower palea with a long bristle 

 at the summit ; the upper one with a clavate pedicel or rudimentary flower at the base. — 

 A perennial grass, with a simple contracted panicle. 



1. Brachyelytrum aristatum, Beauv. Awned Brachyelytrum. 



Beauv. I. c. ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 102. Muhlenbergia erecta, Schreb. gram. 2. t. 50 ; Pursh, 

 fl. 1. p. 61 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 96 ; Muhl. gram. p. 57 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 27 ; Beck, hot. p. 

 391 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 58. M. aristata, Pers. syn. 1. p. 76 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 203. 

 M. Brachyelytrum, Trin. diss. 1. p. 88. Dilepyrum aristosum, Michx. fi. 1. p. 40. 



Rhizoma creeping. Culm simple, 2-3 feet high, pubescent about the nodes. Leaves 

 about 6 inches long and 4-6 lines wide, somewhat hairy, ciliate on the margin ; sheaths 

 loose : ligule oblong, lacerated. Panicle racemose, erect. Spikelets nearly half an inch 

 long (excluding the awn). Lower glume almost wanting ; the upper many times shorter than 

 the palese, lanceolate. Paleas lanceolate-linear, rough, somewhat hairy at the base ; lower 

 one 5-nerved, terminating in a straight bristle about three-fourths of an inch long ; the upper 

 with a groove on the back, in which is lodged a slender awn-like pedicel. Stamens 2 : stigmas 

 linear, very long. Scales ovate, obtuse. Caryopsis oblong, acute. 



Rocky woods and hill-sides : frequent. Fl. June -July. 



56* 



