888 



WEEDS AXD CSEFUL PLA^TTS 



ated at apex, glaucous, scabrous on the margin . sheaiTis closely emt/acing tli6 cnha, 

 smooth ; liguJe very short, pilose or fimbriate. Panicle terminal, large, — ^the branches 

 smoothish, long, slender, semi-verticillate, with a tuft of soft hairs at base. SpUcdets 

 lance-linear, erect, pedunculate, 3-5- (mostly 3-) flowered. Low^t fiord, staminate. ses- 

 sile, naked at base ; upper fiords pedicellate, — the j>edicek finally clothed with loner white 

 silky hairs which are nearly as long as the florets (these hairs scarcely perceptible" on the 

 young panicle). Pa7ecE very unequal,— the lower one with a long -slender acumination, 

 which is involute, resembling an awn. 

 Margins of swamps and swampy streams. Fl. August. Fr. September. 



Ohs. This grass appears to he indigenous in both hemispheres. It 

 possesses but little agricultural interest ; j-et, being so remarkably large 

 (rivalling Indian Corn in size), I have concluded to give it a place here. 



17. ARUXDIXA'EIA, Mx. Caxe. 



[Xams formed from Arundo, a reed.] 



SpiJcelets compressed, 5 - 14-fio^vercd ; florets somewhat separated on the 

 jointed rachis. Glumes membranaceous, very small, the lower one 

 smaller than the upper. FahcE herbaceous, or somewhat membranaceous ; 

 the lower convex on the back, not keeled, mucronate or bristle-pointed. 

 Scales 3, longer than the ovary. Stamens 3. Grain oblong, free. Tall 

 arborescent or shrubby grosses, simple or fasclculately branched : spike- 

 lets in panicles or racemes, polygamciis. 



1. A. macrosper'ma, Leaves linear-lanceolate, pubescent beneath ; 

 panicle simple ; spikelets few, very large. 



Long or Large-seeded Arui\'Dinaria. Cane. 



Eoot perennial, CESspitose (creeping rhizomas). Culm S-15 feet high (30 feet or more 

 in the gigantic variety), terete, glabrous, fistular, rigid, branching towards the summit, — 

 the branches distichous. Leaves distichous, lanceolate, large, flat, slightly acuminate, pubes- 

 cent on the under sm-face ; sheaths much longer than the internodcs, marcesceiit, — the 

 ihroat contracted ; ligule bristly. Panicle simple, — ^the peduncles about an inch long, 

 pubescent. Spikelds 1-3 inches in length. 



Rich, occasionally inundated, soils : South- Western States. Fl. March -April. Fr. 



Ohs. Having only seen the small variety of this species, as it grows in 

 the vicinity of the Dismal Swamp, Virginia, — I cannot speak, from per- 

 sonal observation, of the arborescent variety which forms the celebrated 

 Cane brakes of the Mississippi region. Although this remarkable grass 

 has but little connection with Agriculture, I have supposed it might be 

 entitled to a brief notice ; for which I am indebted to Mr. Elliotts 

 valuable sketch of the Botany of South Carohna and Georgia. The 

 culms of this species are well known from their common use as angling 

 rods. 



18. LO'LIUM, L. Darxel. 



[The ancient Latin name.] 



Spikelets m-any-flowered, solitary on each joint of the continuous rachis, 

 the edge of the spikelets placed towards the rachis. Glumes (except at 



