44 
A. trachycaulum var. tenerum (Vas.) n. comb. 
Triticum trachycaulum Link, Hort. Reg. Bot. Berol. II, 189 (1833). 
A. tenerum, Vasey, Bot. Gaz. 10, 258 (1885). 
A. repens (L.) Beauv. var. tenerum (Vas.) Beal, Grasses N. Am., 2, 
637 (1896). 
A. tenerum longifolium Scribn. & Sm., U.S. Dept. Agr., Div. Agrost. 
Bui. 4, 30 (1897). 
A. pseudorepens Scribn. & Sm., U.S. Dept. Agr., Div. of Agrost., Bui. 
4, 34 (1897) 1 . 
A. pseudorepens magnum Scribn. & Sm., U.S. Dept. Agr., Div. of 
Agrost., Bui. 4, 34 (1897). 
A. novae-angliae Scribn. apud Brainerd, Jones and Eggleston, Contr. 
Bot. Vt. 8, 9, 103 (1900). 
A. tenerum magnum (Scribn. & Sm.) Piper, Bui. Torr. Bot. Club, 
32, 546 (1905). 
A. caninum (L.) Beauv., var. tenerum (Vas.) Pease & Moore, Rho- 
dora, 12, 71 (1910). 
Lemma glabrous or finely scabrous, awnless or with an awn not 
exceeding half the length of the body of the lemma. Leaf sheaths glabrous. 
Whole plant green. 
This is western rye grass, in the strict sense of the word, which in 
western Canada is cultivated as a hay and pasture grass. It is composed 
of a very large number of more or less distinct biotypes, differing from 
each other, for instance, in leafiness and resultant yield of hay, width and 
degree of scabrousness and laxness of the leaves, length and comparative 
density of the spikes, size and number of florets of the spikelets, and many 
other characters. 
Among the specimens in the National Herbarium of Canada the fol- 
lowing may be cited: Newfoundland — No. 99331, Grand Falls, valley of 
Exploits river, July 22, 1911 (M. L. Fernald and K. M. Wiegand ); Prince 
Edward Island — No. 113146, Bloomfield, Aug. 7, 1912; No. 113147, 
Dundee, Aug. 26, 1912 ( M . L. Fernald, B. Long , and H. St. John); Nova 
Scotia — No. 111103, Great Bras d'Or, Grand Narrows, Aug. 30, 1920 
( M . L. Fernald and B. Long); No. 111102, Eel lake, July 27, 1920 (M. L. 
Fernald, R. C. Bean, and D. White ) ; New Brunswick — No. 119248, 
Dalhousie, Aug. 10, 1926 (M. O. Malle); Quebec — No. 115324, Alright 
island, Magdalen islands, Aug. 21, 1912 (M. L. Fernald, B. Long, and H. St. 
John); No. 67182, Mount Ste. Anne, Perc6, July 24, 1905 (J. F. Collins 
and M. L. Fernald); No. 66051, Little Cascapedia river, July 29-30, 1904 
(J. F. Collins, M. L. Fernald, and A. S. Pease); No. 66201, Bic, July 15-18, 
1904 (J. F. Collins and M. L. Fernald); No. 119241 Perkins, July 14, 1923; 
‘A. pseudorepens is listed as a synonym of A. trachycaulum, although it was described as having creeping root- 
stocks. The fact is that, judging from the specimens cited by Scribner and Smith, it was founded on two distinct 
elements. The first specimen cited is one from Texas, collected by Nealley, 1889. This specimen is A. Smithii 
Rydb. None of the specimens cited is designated as the type and, if the Nealley specimen is considered as such 
on the ground that it is the first one cited, A. pseudorepens Scribn. & Sm. will stand as a good species and A. 
Smithii Rydb., as published later, will have to be relegated to synonymy. There is, in this case, however, good 
reason for considering another of the specimens cited by Scribner and Smith as the typo. This is No. 2018, collected 
by Rydberg at Kearney, Nebraska, 1895. Scribner himself apparently considered Rydberg’s 2018 the most repre- 
sentative one, for this is the specimen from which his figure 592 in American Grasses, illustrating A. pseudorepens, 
is drawn. Taking this into consideration, the writer would consider Rydberg’s No. 2018 as the type of A, pseudo- 
repens. This specimen is A. trachycaulum var. tenerum. 
The writer is indebted to Prof. Hitchcock for an opportunity to examine the specimens referred to. 
