POA. 



GRAMINEiE. 



457 



4. Poa pratensis, Linn. 



Smooth-stalked or Green Meadow-grass. 



Panicle diffuse ; spikelets oblong-ovate, about 4-flowered ; the flowers acute, 5-nerved, 

 webbed at the base ; culm and sheaths smooth ; ligule short ; rhizoma creeping. — Linn. sp. 

 1. p. 67 ; Engl. hot. 1073 ; Pursh,fl. 1. p. 78 ; Torr. ft. I. p. 109 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 33 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 409 ; Kunth, ennm. 1. p. 352; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 74. P. viridis, Muhl. 

 gram. p. 138; Ell. sk. 1. p. 159 ; Kunth, I. c. 



Perennial. Culm 2-3 feet high. Leaves deep green : lower ones very long ; the upper 

 much shorter. Panicle pyramidal ; the branches 3-5 together, a little rough. Spikelets 

 acute, 3 - 5-flowered, with cobweb-like hairs at the base. Glumes unequal, lanceolate, acute. 

 Lower palea ovate-lanceolate ; the upper one rather shorter. 



Meadows, pastures, and road-sides : common. Fl. May - July. Introduced from Europe. 

 This is considered the best grass for pastures. It so readily takes possession of an enclosed 

 field, that most of our farmers look upon it as indigenous to the soil, but there can be little 

 doubt of its foreign origin. 



5. Poa compressa, Linn. Blue-grass. Wire-grass. 



Culm much compressed, decumbent or oblique, rooting at the base ; rhizoma creeping ; 

 panicle contracted, somewhat secund ; spikelets ovate-oblong, 4 - 8-flowered ; the flowers 

 webbed at the base, obscurely nerved. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 69 ; Engl. hot. t. 365 ; Michx. fl. 

 1. p. 69 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 79 ; Muhl. gram. p. 141 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 33 ; Torr. fl. 1. 

 p. 110; Beck, hot. p. 410 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 355 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 76. 



var. sijlvestris : panicle loose, somewhat spreading ; spikelets 2 - 3-flowered ; culm slender, 

 nearly erect. Torr. I. c. 



Perennial. Rhizoma creeping extensively. Culm 12 - 18 inches long, often procumbent 

 and remarkably geniculate at the base. Leaves short, linear, keeled, smooth, of a bluish 

 green color : ligule short and truncate. Panicle at flowering time a little expanded, but 

 commonly contracted and almost spike-like ; the branches in pairs or threes, short, flexuous, 

 rough. Spikelets mostly 5 - 6-flowered. Glumes about two-thirds the length of the lowest 

 flower. Lower palea obscurely 5-nerved, a little hairy on the sides and at the base. 



Fields, cultivated grounds, and road-sides ; var. sylvestris in woods : common. Fl. June 

 - July. An introduced grass, which is much esteemed for pasturage. 



6. Poa pungens, Nutt. Sharp-leaved Meadow-grass. 



Culm compressed ; leaves cuspidate, those of the culm very short ; panicle nearly simple, 

 spreading ; spikelets lanceolate-ovate, 3 - 4-flowered, crowded at the extremity of the branches ; 

 flowers webbed at the base, rather obtuse. — Nutt. gen. 1. p. 66 (in obs.) ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 

 109; Beck, hot. p. 409; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 74. P. autumnalis, Ell. sk. I. p. 159?; 

 Nutt. I. c. P. flexuosa, Muhl. gram. p. 148, not of Smith. P. cuspidata, Bart. fl. Phil. 

 1. p. 61. 



[Flora — Vol. 2-1 



58 



