382 



WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 



1. P. an'nua, L. Culms oblique, subcompressed ; leaves rather sltort ; 

 panicle subsecund ; spikelets 3 - 7-flowered, ou short pedicels, rather 

 crowded. 



Annual Poa. Dwarf, or Early Meadow-Grass. 

 Fr. Paturiu annuel. Germ. Jaehriges Bispengras. 



Root annual. Culms csespitose, 3 -6 or 8 incties long, smooth, geniculate, oblique at 

 base, or often nearly procumbent. Leaves 1-3 inches in length, sublinear, acute, keeled, 

 smooth ; sheaths loose, smooth ; Ugule oblong, dentate. Panicle sometimes rather secund, 

 the branches often solitary, subdivided. Spikelets rather crowded on the divisions of the 

 branches, 3 or 4-6- (very often 3-) flowered. G'Zm7?i&s unequal, acuminate, with scarious 

 margins. Loiver palea dehcately more or less hairy on the nerves below. 



Cultivated grounds, pastures, along foot-paths, &c. : introduced. Native of Europe. Fl. 

 April -Sept. Fr. June -Oct. 



Obs. This little species — which was probably introduced from Europe 

 — comes forward early in the spring, — and what little pasture it affords 

 is tolerably acceptable to stock ; but it is far inferior in value and im- 

 portance to either of the following. 



^ Root perennial; panicle open, its branches in fives; spikelets all dis- 

 tinctly pedicelled, acute, slightly flattened. 



2. P. serot'ina, Ehrhart. Culms erect terete ; leaves linear ; ligules 

 elongated ; spikelets 2 - 4-flowered ; flowers acutish, often tinged with 

 purple. 



Late Poa. Fowl Meadow-Grass. False Eed-top. 



Culm 2-3 feet high. Panicle 6-10 inches long. PalecB slightly hairy at the base. 

 Wet meadows : northward. July - Aug. 



Obs. This is considered a highly valuable grass for wet meadows, and 

 is common in New England and along the northern States to Lake 

 Superior. 



* * Root perennial ; panicle with the flattened spikelets crowded on the 

 branches, mostly short-pedi celled, sometimes almost sessile. 



3. P. trivia'lis, L. Culm and sheaths somewhat scabrous ; ligule 

 elongated, acute; spikelets ovate, 2 - 3-fiowered, — the florets slightly 

 villous at base. 



Trivial Poa. Eough Meadow-Grass. 



Root perennial. Culm 1 - 2 or 3 feet high, subterete or slightlj^ ancipital, often declined 

 at base, geniculate, and stoloniferous, somewhat scabrous retrorsely. Leaves 2 or 3-6 

 or 8 inches long, lance-linear (those of the root, or suckers, long and narrow), acute or 

 acuminate, slightly scabrous on the margin ; sheaths striate-nerved, scabrous when rubbed 

 upwards ; ligule much elongated, scarious and whitish. Panicle loose, expanding, — the 

 branches semi-verticillate in about fives, sharpl.y scabrous. Spikelets usually 2- (some- 

 times 3-) flowered. Glumes scabrous on the keel, the lower one rather shorter, very 

 acute, the upper one 3-nerved, with a scarious margin. Palece unequal, nearly smooth 

 or very slightly villous at base, the lower one longer, 5-nerved, scarious at apex. 



Moist low grounds, meadows, and woodlands : introduced ? Fl. June. Fr. July. 



Obs. This species (perhaps a foreigner) is frequent in moist pastures 

 and meadows, — and affords a ffood forage, both pasture and hay. It 



