456 



GRAMINEiE. 



Poa. 



Annual. Culms cespitose, 3-8 inches long, very smooth, oblique or often nearly procum- 

 bent. Leaves short, bright green, smooth, keeled : sheaths loose, smooth : ligule oblong. 

 Panicle at length divaricately spreading ; the branches mostly solitary. Spikelets rather 

 crowded towards the summit of the branchlets, sometimes 6-flowered. Glumes nearly equal, 

 acute, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate. Palese minutely pubescent ; the lower one ovate, rather 

 obtuse : upper one a little shorter, pale greenish white, with two green marginal keels. 



Cultivated grounds, garden paths, roadsides, etc. Fl. April - October. Probably introduced 

 from Europe. 



2. Poa laxa, Hcenke. Few-jlowered Alpine Meadow-grass. 



Panicle contracted, somewhat nodding at the apex, the branches smooth, mostly in pairs ; 

 spikelets ovate, about 3-flowered, the flowers acute, hairy and somewhat webbed at the base ; 

 leaves narrowly linear, acute ; ligules all lanceolate. — Hcenke, " fl. Sudet. p. 118;" Trin. 

 in act. Petrop. 6. ser. I. p. 374 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 349. P. flexuosa, Engl. hot. t. 1123. 

 P. alpina, Torr. in Geol. Report. 



Root perennial, fibrous. Culms cespitose, 6-8 inches high, erect. Leaves numerous, 

 mostly less than a line wide, glaucous, smooth. Panicle 1-2 inches long; the branches flexuous, 

 usually in pairs, but sometimes three together. Spikelets about 2J lines long, sometimes 

 4-flowered, but the terminal flower often imperfect. Glumes ovate-lanceolate, nearly equal, 

 slightly rough on the keel ; the sides nerveless. Lower palea very hairy below, with indistinct 

 lateral nerves : upper palea rough on the margin. 



Summit of Mount Marcy in Essex county. Fl. early in August. This grass appears to 

 be identical with the European plant. It is allied to P. alpina, but differs in the contracted 

 panicle, fewer-flowered spikelets, narrower leaves, and in the ligules being all lanceolate. 



3. Poa trivialis, Linn. Rough Meadow-grass. 



Panicle equal, diffuse ; spikelets oblong-ovate, about 3-flowered ; flowers webbed at the 

 base, 5-nerved ; culm and sheaths roughish ; ligule oblong ; root fibrous. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 

 67; Engl. hot. t. 1072; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 78; Torr. fl. 1. p. 110; Beck, hot. p. 410; 

 Kunth, enum. 1. p. 352; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 75. P. stolonifera, Muhl. gram. p. 179. 



Perennial. Culm 2-3 feet high, often throwing off suckers at the base. Leaves very 

 narrow, pale green : ligules elongated, upper ones acute, the lower obtuse. Panicle large, 

 pyramidal, verticillate ; the branches rough. Spikelets sometimes only 2-flowered. Glumes 

 unequal, very acute. Lower palea 5-nerved, scarious at the apex. 



Moist meadows : frequent. Fl. June - August. A naturalized European grass. It is 

 good for pasturage or hay, but much inferior to P. pratensis. It is easily distinguished from 

 that species by the rough culms, long ligules, and fibrous roots. 



