468 



GRAMINE^E. 



Bromus. 



ones smooth : ligule short, truncate. Panicle 6-8 inches long ; the branches 2-5 together, 

 filiform, rough. Spikelets from three-fourths of an inch to more than an inch in length, about 

 10-flowered, at first nearly terete and compact, but after flowering much broader and more 

 open. Glumes lanceolate ; the upper one broader and longer, 3-nerved. Lower palea more 

 or less pubescent, with closely appressed hairs, particularly along the margin, sometimes 

 nearly or quite smooth, 7-nerved : awn straight or slightly tortuous, from one-half to three- 

 fourths the length of the palea : upper palea shorter, linear, strongly ciliate on the margin. 

 Woods and rocky hills : frequent. Fl. June. 



3. Bromus purgans, Linn. Hairy -flowered Brome-grass. 



Panicle oblong, somewhat contracted, finally nodding ; spikelets oblong-lanceolate, ovate- 

 oblong when old, 7 - 8-flowered ; the flowers villous, with somewhat spreading hairs ; awn 

 straight, about one-third the length of the paless. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 76 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 85; 

 Muhl. gram. p. 170 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 173 ; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 252 (in part). 



Perennial. Culm 2-3 feet high, pubescent at the nodes. Leaves 3-6 lines wide, flat, 

 hairy on both sides, but only sparingly underneath : lower sheaths retrorsely hairy : ligule 

 short and truncate. Panicle about 3 inches long ; the branches short and nearly simple, 2-4 

 together. Spikelets mostly about 8-flowered, three-fourths of an inch long, open and 

 distichous when old. Flowers very hairy, and of a grayish green color. Glumes lanceolate, 

 rather acute, but not mucronate : lower one 5-nerved. Lower palea oblong-lanceolate ; the 

 awn seldom more than one-third the length of the palea, 7-nerved. 



Woods and river-banks, northern and western counties. Fl. June - July. Resembles the 

 preceding species, but differs in its small rather contracted panicle, very hairy flowers, and 

 shorter awns. Hooker considers B. pubescens, ciliatus, Canadensis, and purgans, as only 

 one species. 



4. Bromus sterilis, Linn. Barren Brome- grass. 



Panicle loose, drooping ; the branches elongated and nearly simple ; spikelets linear- 

 lanceolate, oblong when old ; the flowers remote, lanceolate-subulate ; awn straight and 

 slender, longer than the palea; leaves pubescent; culm smooth. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 77; 

 Engl. hot. t. 1030 ; Kunth, enum. I. p. 418. 



Annual. Culm - 2 feet high, slender. Leaves 2-3 lines wide, a little pubescent 

 above and on the margin, smooth underneath. Panicle nearly simple, loose and slender ; the 

 branches 2-3 together, rough. Spikelets about 6-flowered. Glumes very unequal, lanceolate- 

 subulate, tapering to a sharp point, smooth. Lower palea slender, attenuated upward, rougli ; 

 the awn about three-fourths of an inch long. Caryopsis linear, with a deep groove on the 

 upper side. 



Penn-Yan, Yates county (Dr. Sartwell). This is probably an introduced grass. It is a 

 common species in Europe. 



