460 



GRAMINEiE. 



Poa. 



11. Poa pilosa, Linn. Slender Meadow-grass. 



Panicle capillary, pyramidal, the lower branches hairy in the axils ; spikelets linear, 5 - 

 1 2-flowered, the flowers not webbed at the base; glumes very unequal ; upper palea per- 

 sistent ; culms cespitose, oblique, geniculate at the base ; leaves hairy at the base. — Linn, 

 sp. 1. p. 68 ; Muhl. gram. p. 143 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 78 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 329. 

 P. pectinacea, Michx. fl. 1. p. 69 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 81 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 114 ; Beck, hot. p. 

 411. P. Eragrostis, Ell. sk. 1. p. 161 (fide Curtis). P. tenella, Pursh, I. c. ; Ell. sk. 1. 

 p. 160 1 Eragrostis pilosa, Beauv. Agrost. p. 71. 



Annual. Culm 6-12 inches or more in length, branching from the base and forming 

 tufts. Leaves 2-4 inches long, flat, smooth, with long white hairs at the throat. Panicle 

 large, loose ; the branches a little flexuous : lower ones semiverticillate. Spikelets 2-4 

 lines long, often purplish. Glumes without lateral nerves : lower one minute ; the upper 

 rough on the back. Lower palea obscurely 3-nerved ; the upper slightly ciliate on the margin, 

 persistent, thus giving the rachis a pectinate or serrated appearance when old. Caryopsis 

 oblong, brown. 



Sandy soils, road-sides, and cultivated grounds, in both dry and wet situations ; frequent 

 in the neighborhood of New-York, and perhaps introduced from Europe. Fl. August - 

 September. 



12. Poa reptans, Michx. Creeping Meadow-grass. 



Culm branched and creeping ; flowers dioecious ; panicle somewhat simple, ovate ; spikelets 

 approximated on the short branches, linear-lanceolate, flat, 12 - 20-flowered ; flowers acu- 

 minate, smooth ; lower palea 3-nerved. — Michx. fl. 1. p, 69. t. 11 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 81 ; 

 Muhl. gram. p. 142 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 163 ; Kunth, syn. 1. p. 219, and enum. 1. p. 336 ; Torr. 

 fl. 1. p. 114; Beck, hot. p. 411. P. hypnoides, Lam. ill. 1. p. 185? Eragrostis reptans, 

 Nees in Mart. fl. Bras. 1. p. 514 ; Trin. in act. Petrop. 6 ser. 1. p. 410. 



Annual. Culm 6-15 inches long, creeping and rooting at the joints. Leaves subulate, 

 flat, minutely pubescent above : sheaths loose, striate, a little hairy on the margin and at the 

 throat. Panicle 1-2 inches long, more or less contracted. Spikelets much compressed. 

 Glumes unequal, very acute, keeled. Paleag very unequal ; the lower one ovate, with 3 

 strong green nerves, smooth : upper palea much shorter, ciliate on the keel 3. 



Sandy banks of rivers : on the upper part of the Hudson, and in the western counties. Fl. 

 July - August. A delicate and handsome grass. If it should prove to be the P. hypnoides 

 of Lamarck, that name, being the older, must be adopted. 



13. Poa hirsuta, Michx. Hairy Meadoiv- grass. 



Panicle very large, capillary ; the branches at first expanding, finally reflexed, bearded in 

 the axils; spikelets oblong, 5 - 15-flowered ; upper palea ciliate on the double keel ; culm 

 erect, simple, compressed ; lower sheaths hairy. — Michx. fl. 1. p. 68 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 80 ; 



