K(ELERIA. 



GRAMINEiE. 



4G9 



37. KCELERIA. Pers.syn. 1. p. 97 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 380, KCELERIA. 



[ In honor of M. KffiLER, a German botanist ] 



Spikelets 2 - 4-flowered. Glumes shorter than the flowers ; the lower one much narrower, 

 keeled. Palea? membranaceous, unequal ; the lower acute or obtuse, unarmed, or with a 

 short awn below the tip ; the upper 2-keeled. Styles very short. Cespitose erect grasses, 

 with simple culms, and contracted or spikelike panicles. 



1. Kceleria 1 Pennsylvania, DC. Pennsyhanian Kceleria. 

 Panicle long, very slender, rather loose ; spikelets mostly 2-flowered ; upper glume oblan- 



ceolate, obtuse, or slightly pointed ; lower palea rough ; lower leaves and sheaths softly 

 pubescent. — DC. cat. hort. Monsp. (1813), p. 117; Torr. jl.\.p. 116; Beck, bot. p. 407; 

 Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 65. Aira mollis, Muhl. gram. p. 83. A. triflora, Ell. sk. 1. p. 154? 

 Reboulea gracilis (in part), Kunth, enum. 1. p. 369. Graphephorum Elliotii, Kunth, I. c. 

 p. 250 ? 



var. major : taller ; leaves broadly linear, and with the sheaths smooth ; panicle more dense. 

 K. truncata, /3. major, Torr. I. c. 



Perennial. Culm about 2 feet high, slender, simple. Leaves short, flat, about lj line 

 wide, pale green ; the lower ones and the sheaths usually clothed with a minute velvety pu- 

 bescence : ligule short and lacerate. Panicle 3-6 inches long, very slender ; the branches 

 2-3 together, distant, rather loose. Spikelets somewhat racemose, sometimes 3-flowered, 

 yellowish green. Lower glume almost linear ; the other broader, dilated upward, but scarcely 

 obtuse ; both of them hispidulous on the back. Lower palea somewhat coriaceous, roughened 

 with minute crowded dots. Stamens 3 : anthers (and also the stigmas) purple. Caryopsis 

 linear, compressed. 



Moist woods and meadows : frequent. Fl. June, 



2. Kceleria truncata, Torr. (Plate CL.) Truncated Kceleria. 

 Panicle oblong, contracted ; the branches short and erect, racemose ; spikelets somewhat 



clustered, 2-flowered ; upper glume broadly obovate, very obtuse or truncate ; upper palea 

 sinoothish ; leaves and sheaths smooth or pubescent. — Torr. jl. 1. p. 116; Beck, bot. p. 

 408; Darlingt. jl. Cest. p. 66. Holcus striatus, Linn. sp. 2. p. I486. Aira truncata, 

 Muhl. gram. p. 83; Bigel. jl. Bost. p. 31. A. obtusata, Mich. jl. 1. p. 62? Reboulea 

 gracilis, Kunth, enum. 1. p. 369 (in part). 



Perennial. Culm about 2 feet high. Leaves about I J line wide, flat. Panicle 3-5 inches 

 long, rather dense, very narrow. Spikelets all 2-flowered. Glumes dissimilar : the lower one 

 almost subulate ; the other very broad, somewhat coriaceous, scarious on the margin, rough on 

 the keel. Paleae nearly equal in length, oblong-lanceolate, rather acute, contracted at the base. 

 Caryoptis oblong-linear, nearly the length of the upper palea, light brown. 



Dry open woods, and fields. Fl. June. This is possibly a mere slate of the preceding species, 

 and the A. truncata of Michaux may be (as Darlington thinks) not specifically distinct. Kunth 

 regards them all as one plant, and constitutes of them his genus Reboulea. 



