those in the open panicles usually sterile by the abortion of the ovary,
those enclosed in the sheaths of the leaves close-fertilized in the bud
and prolific. Spikelets 1-flowered, flat, more or less imbricated over
each other, jointed upon the short pedicels. Glumes 2, chartaceous,
strongly flattened laterally or conduplicate, awnless, bristly-ciliate
on the keels, closed, nearly equal in length, but the lower much
broader, enclosing the flat grain. Palet none. Stamens 1--6. Stigmas
feathery, the hairs branching.--Perennial marsh grasses; the flat
leaves, sheaths, etc., rough upward, being clothed with very minute
hooked prickles. (Named after _John Daniel Leers_, a German botanist.)
[*] _Spikelets narrowly oblong, rather loosely crowded._
1. L. Virginica, Willd. (WHITE GRASS.) _Panicle simple; the spikelets
closely appressed_ on the slender branches, around which they are partly
curved (11/2'' long); stamens 2 (a third imperfect or wanting); glumes
sparingly ciliate (greenish-white).--Wet woods; Maine to Minn., and
southward. Aug.
2. L. oryzoides, Swartz. (RICE CUT-GRASS.) (Pl. 7, fig. 1--3.) _Panicle
diffusely branched; spikelets flat, rather spreading_ (21/2--3'' long);
_stamens_ 3; glumes strongly bristly-ciliate (whitish).--Very wet
places; Mass, to Minn., and southward; common. Aug. (Eu.)
[*][*] _Spikelets broadly oval, imbricately covering each other (21/2--3''
long)._
3. L. lenticularis, Michx. (CATCH-FLY GRASS.) Smoothish; panicle simple;
glumes very flat, strongly bristly-ciliate (said to close and catch
flies); stamens 2; otherwise like the preceding.--Low grounds, Va.,
Ill., and southward.
10. ZIZANIA, Gronov. WATER or INDIAN RICE. (Pl. 7.)
Flowers monoecious; the staminate and pistillate both in 1-flowered
spikelets in the same panicle. Glumes 2, subtended by a small
cartilaginous ring, herbaceo-membranaceous, convex, awnless in the
sterile, the lower one tipped with a straight awn in the fertile
spikelets. Palet none. Stamens 6. Stigmas pencil-form.--Large, often
reed-like water-grasses. Spikelets jointed upon the club-shaped
pedicels, very deciduous. (Adopted from [Greek: ziza/nion], the ancient
name of some wild grain.)
1. Z. aquatica, L. (INDIAN RICE. WATER OATS.) (Pl. 7, fig. 1--4.)
Annual; culms 3--9 deg. high; leaves flat, 2--3 deg. long, linear-lanceolate;
_lower branches of the_ ample pyramidal _panicle staminate, spreading;
the upper erect, pistillate; lower glume long-awned_, rough; styles
distinct; grain linear, slender, 6'' long.--Swampy borders of streams
and in shallow water; common, especially northwestward. Aug.
2. Z. miliacea, Michx. Perennial; panicle diffuse, ample, the _staminate
and pistillate flowers intermixed; awns short_; styles united; grain
ovate.--Penn. (?), Ohio, and southward. Aug.--Leaves involute.
11. TRIPSACUM, L. GAMA-GRASS. SESAME-GRASS. (Pl. 14.)
Spikelets monoecious, in jointed unilateral spikes, staminate above and
fertile below. Staminate spikelets in pairs, sessile at each triangular
joint of the narrow rhachis, both alike, 2-flowered, longer than the
joints; glumes 4, coriaceous, the lower (outer) one nerved, the second
boat-shaped, the upper with the palets very thin and membranaceous,
awnless; anthers opening by 2 pores at the apex. Pistillate spikelets
2-flowered (the lower flower neutral), single and deeply imbedded in
each oblong joint of the cartilaginous thickened rhachis, occupying a
boat-shaped recess which is closed by the polished and cartilaginous
ovate outer glume, the inner glume much thinner and pointed, the upper
with the palets very thin and scarious, pointless. Styles united;
stigmas very long (purple), hispid. Grain ovoid, free.--Culms stout and
tall, solid, from very thick creeping rootstocks. Leaves broad and flat.
Spikes axillary and terminal, separating spontaneously into joints at
maturity. (Name from [Greek: tri/bo], _to rub_, perhaps in allusion to
the polished fertile spike.)
1. T. dactyloides, L. Spikes (4--8' long) 2--3 together at the summit
(when their contiguous sides are more or less flattened), and also
solitary from some of the upper sheaths (when the fertile part is
cylindrical); in var. MONOSTACHYUM, the terminal spike also
solitary.--Moist soil, from Conn. to Penn. and Fla., near the coast, and
from Ill. southward. Aug.--Culm 4--7 deg. high; leaves like those of Indian
Corn. This is one of our largest and most remarkable Grasses; sometimes
used for fodder at the South.
12. ROTTBOELLIA, L. f. (Pl. 16.)
Spikelets in pairs at each joint of a terete slender spike, awnless; one
imperfect or rudimentary on a short and thick appressed pedicel; the
other sessile and imbedded in an excavation of the joint of the rhachis,
1-flowered or rarely with a second staminate flower. Glumes 4, obtuse,
the outer hard and cartilaginous, with a transverse depression next the
base, the inner one boat-shaped and membranaceous, the 2 upper thin and
delicate. Stamens 3. Styles 2.--Tall or coarse perennials, with rigid
stems, and single cartilaginous spikes terminating the stem and axillary
branches, chiefly subtropical. (Named for _Prof. C. F. Rottboell_, an
excellent Danish botanist, who wrote much upon Gramineae, Cyperaceae,
etc.)
1. R. rugosa, Nutt. Culm flattish, 2--4 deg. high; leaves linear; spikes
1--2' long, the lateral ones on short clustered branches in the axils,
often partly included in the sheaths of the leaves; sterile flower
neutral; lower glume transversely rugose.--Low pine-barrens, from
S. Del. (_W. M. Canby_) southward near the coast. Sept.--Oct.
13. ERIANTHUS, Michx. WOOLLY BEARD-GRASS. (Pl. 14.)
Spikelets spiked, in pairs upon each joint of the slender rhachis, one
sessile, the other pedicelled, both 1-flowered, alike. Glumes 4, the 2
lower nearly equal, one 4--5-nerved, the other many-nerved; the 2 upper
hyaline, one empty, the upper awned from the tip. Stamens 3. Grain
free.--Tall and stout reed-like perennials, with the spikes crowded in a
panicle, and clothed with long silky hairs, especially in a tuft around
the base of each spikelet (whence the name, from [Greek: e)/rion],
_wool_, and [Greek: a)/nthos], _flower_).
1. E. saccharoides, Michx. (Pl. 14, fig. 1, 2.) Culm (4--6 deg. high)
woolly-bearded at the joints; _panicle contracted; the silky hairs
longer than the spikelets_, shorter than the awn; stamens 2. (E.
alopecuroides, _Ell._)--Wet pine-barrens, from N. J. and Ill. southward;
rare. Sept., Oct.
2. E. brevibarbis, Michx. Culm (2--5 deg. high), somewhat bearded at the
upper joints; _panicle rather open_; silky hairs shorter than the
spikelets.--Low grounds, Va., and southward.
14. ANDROPOGON, Royen. BEARD-GRASS. (Pl. 14.)
Spikelets in pairs upon each joint of the slender rhachis, spiked or
racemed, one of them pedicelled and sterile (staminate, pistillate or
neutral), often a mere vestige, the other sessile, 1-flowered and
fertile; lower glume the larger, coriaceous and nerved, blunt, the
second carinate and acute, the 2 upper hyaline, the flowering glume
awned from the tip. Stamens 1--3. Grain free.--Coarse, mostly rigid
perennials, mostly in sterile or sandy soil; with lateral or terminal
spikes commonly clustered or digitate; the rhachis hairy or
plumose-bearded, and often the sterile or staminate flowers also (whence
the name, composed of [Greek: a)ne/r], _man_, and [Greek: po/gon],
_beard_).
[*] _Spikes digitate, thickish, short-bearded, the sterile spikelet
staminate; stamens 3._
1. A. furcatus, Muhl. (Pl. 14, fig. 1--3.) Tall, 3--4 deg. high, rigid, the
naked summit of the culm (and usually some lateral branches) terminated
by 2--5 rigid spikes; spikelets approximate, appressed; hairs at the
base of the fertile spikelet, on the rhachis and on the stout pedicel of
the awnless staminate spikelet short and rather sparse; awn of fertile
flower long and bent; leaves flat, roughish, the lower ones long. ("A.
provincialis, _Lam._")--Common in dry sterile soil. Aug.--Oct.
[*][*] _Spikes with slender often zigzag rhachis, silky-villous._
[+] _Single and scattered along the branches, with the silky hairs
shorter than the flowers; sterile spikelet conspicuous but mostly
neutral; the fertile triandrous._
2. A. scoparius, Michx. Culms slender (1--3 deg. high), with numerous
paniculate branches; lower sheaths and narrow leaves hairy; spikes
slender, scattered, mostly peduncled (1--2' long), very loose, often
purplish, silky with lax dull-white hairs; sterile spikelet awn-pointed
or awnless; the fertile about half the length of its twisted or bent
awn.--Dry ground. July--Sept.
3. A. maritimus, Chapm. Smooth and glaucous; culms ascending from
creeping rootstocks, 1--11/2 deg. high; leaves rather rigid, divaricate, their
compressed sheaths imbricated; panicle short; peduncles included within
the conspicuous bracts; rhachis and pedicels copiously ciliate with
spreading hairs; glumes larger, 3--4'' long.--Sandy sea-coast; Cape May,
and south to Fla.
[+][+] _In pairs or clustered; the copious soft-silky hairs much longer
than the flowers; sterile spikelet a small neutral rudiment (in n. 4 and
5), or altogether wanting on the very plumose-hairy pedicel; fertile
flower monandrous, its awn capillary; leaves narrow, the lower or their
sheaths often rather hairy._
4. A. argenteus, Ell. Smooth; culms rather slender (1--3 deg. high);
_spikes_ in pairs (rarely in fours) on short mostly exserted _and
loosely paniculate peduncles, densely flowered_ (1--2' long), _very
silky with long bright white hairs_. (A. argyraeus, _Schultes._)--Md. to
Va., near the coast, and southward.
5. A. Elliottii, Chapm. Closely resembling the last; sheaths and leaves
villous; upper nodes of the branches densely bearded.--Md. to Fla. and
Tex.
6. A. Virginicus, L. Culm flattish below, slender (2--3 deg. high)
_sparingly short-branched above_, sheaths smooth; _spikes 2 or 3
together in distant appressed clusters, shorter than their sheathing
bracts_, weak (1' long), the spikelets loose on the filiform rhachis,
the soft _hairs dull white_. (A. dissitiflorus, _Michx._ A. vaginatus,
_Ell._, a form with larger and inflated sheaths.)--Sandy soil, E. Mass.
to Va., Ill., and southward. Sept., Oct.
7. A. macrourus, Michx. Culm stout (2--3 deg. high), _bushy-branched at the
summit_, loaded with very numerous _spikes forming thick leafy
clusters_; sheaths rough, the uppermost hairy; flowers nearly as in the
preceding; the sterile spikelet of each pair wholly wanting, its pedicel
slender and very plumose.--Low and sandy grounds, N. Y. to Va., near the
coast, and southward.
8. A. laguroides, DC. Culms slender, tall, the elongated peduncle
bearing numerous sessile spikes in a spike-like panicle 2--4' long;
spikes slender, 1' long or more, very silky; spikelets glabrous, the
sterile a narrow convolute empty glume.--Central Kan. to Tex. and Mex.
[+][+][+] _Spikes digitate-clustered, very silky; sterile spikelet
larger than the fertile one._
9. A. Hallii, Hackel. Culm stout, 2--3 deg. high; lateral peduncles few,
scarcely exserted from the sheaths; spikes 2--5, 1--3' long, dense;
spikelets 3--4'' long.--Central Kan. to Dak., and westward.
15. CHRYSOPOGON, Trin. (Pl. 14.)
Spikelets in pairs on the ramifications of an open panicle (those at the
ends of the branches in threes), the lateral ones pedicellate, sterile
or often reduced merely to their pedicels; only the sessile middle or
terminal one fertile, its glumes coriaceous or indurated, sometimes
awnless; otherwise nearly as in Andropogon. Stamens 3. (Name composed of
[Greek: chryso/s], _gold_, and [Greek: po/gon], _beard_.)
1. C. nutans, Benth. (INDIAN GRASS. WOOD-GRASS.) Root perennial; culm
simple (3--5 deg. high), terete; leaves linear-lanceolate, glaucous; sheaths
smooth; panicle narrowly oblong, crowded or loose (6--12' long); the
perfect spikelets at length drooping (yellowish or russet-brown and
shining), clothed especially toward the base with fawn-colored hairs,
lanceolate, shorter than the twisted awn; sterile spikelets small and
imperfect, deciduous, or reduced to a mere plumose-hairy pedicel.
(Andropogon avenaceus, _Michx._ Sorghum nutans, _Gray_.)--Dry soil;
common, especially southward.
16. PHALARIS, L. CANARY-GRASS. (Pl. 13.)
Spikelets crowded in a clustered or spiked panicle, 1-flowered. Glumes
5, the third and fourth reduced to mere rudiments (a scale or a
pedicel), one on each side, at the base of the flowering glume and
palet, which are flattish, awnless and shining, shorter than the equal
boat-shaped and keeled persistent empty glumes, finally coriaceous or
cartilaginous, and closely enclosing the flattened free and smooth
grain. Stamens 3.--Leaves broad, mostly flat. (The ancient name, from
[Greek: phalo/s], _shining_, alluding to the shining seed.)
Sec. 1. PHALARIS proper. _Panicle very dense, spike-like; glumes
wing-keeled._
P. CANARIENSIS, L. (CANARY-GRASS.) Annual, 1--2 deg. high; spike oval; empty
glumes white with green veins, the rudimentary ones small lanceolate
scales.--Waste places and roadsides; rare. (Adv. from Eu.)
Sec. 2. DIGRAPHIS. _Panicle branched, the clusters open in anthesis; glumes
not winged on the back._
1. P. arundinacea, L. (REED C.) (Pl. 13, fig. 1, 2.) Perennial, 2--4 deg.
high; leaves flat (3--5'' wide); glumes open at flowering, 3-nerved,
thrice the length of the fertile flower; rudimentary glumes reduced to a
minute hairy scale or pedicel.--Wet grounds; common, especially
northward. June, July.--Var. PICTA, the leaves striped with white, is
the familiar RIBBON-GRASS of the gardens. (Eu.)
17. ANTHOXANTHUM, L. SWEET VERNAL-GRASS. (Pl. 13.)
Spikelets spiked-panicled, 1-flowered. Glumes 5, the third and fourth
empty, hairy, 2-lobed and awned on the hack, the flowering glume and
palet small, hyaline and obtuse; basal glumes persistent, very thin,
acute, keeled, the lower half as long as the upper. Squamulae none.
Stamens 2. Grain ovate, adherent. (Name compounded of [Greek: a)/nthos],
_flower_, and [Greek: a)/nthon], _of flowers_. _L._)
A. ODORATUM, L. Spikelets (brownish or tinged with green) spreading at
flowering-time; one middle glume bearing a bent awn from near its base,
the other short-awned below the tip.--Meadows, pastures, etc. Low
slender perennial; very sweet-scented in drying. May--July. (Nat. from
Eu.)
18. HIEROCHLOE, Gmelin. HOLY GRASS. (Pl. 13.)
Spikelets 3-flowered, open-panicled, the two lower (lateral) flowers
staminate only, 3-androus, sessile, the carinate glumes often awned on
the middle of the back or near the tip, the uppermost flower perfect,
short-pedicelled, scarcely as long as the others, 2-androus, awnless.
Basal glumes persistent, carinate, acute, somewhat 3-nerved, equalling
or exceeding the spikelet.--Perennials; leaves flat. (Name composed of
[Greek: i(ero/s], _sacred_, and [Greek: chlo/e], _grass_; these
sweet-scented grasses being strewn before the church-doors on saints'
days, in the North of Europe.)
1. H. borealis, Roem. & Schultes. (VANILLA or SENECA GRASS.) (Pl. 13,
fig. 1, 2.) Panicle somewhat one-sided, pyramidal (2--5' long);
peduncles smooth; staminate flowers with the glume mucronate or
bristle-pointed at or near the tip; rootstock creeping.--Moist meadows,
chiefly northward near the coast and along the Great Lakes. May.--Culm
1--2 deg. high, with short, lanceolate leaves. Spikelets chestnut-color; the
staminate flowers strongly hairy-fringed on the margins, and the fertile
one at the tip. (Eu.)
2. H. alpina, Roem. & Schultes. Panicle contracted (1--2' long); one of
the staminate flowers with its glume barely pointed or short-awned near
the tip, the other long-awned from below the middle; lowest leaves very
narrow.--Alpine mountain-tops, N. Eng., N. Y., and northward. July.
(Eu.)
19. ARISTIDA, L. TRIPLE-AWNED GRASS. (Pl. 8.)
Spikelets 1-flowered, not jointed on the pedicels. Outer glumes unequal,
often bristle-pointed; the flowering glume tipped with three awns; the
palet much smaller. Otherwise much as in Stipa.--Culms branching; leaves
narrow, often involute. Spikelets in simple or panicled racemes or
spikes. Grain linear. All grow in sterile, dry soil, and all ours have
the awns naked and persistent, and flower late. (Name from _arista_, a
beard or awn.)
[*] _Awns separate to the base, not jointed with the glume._
[+] _Awns very unequal; the much shorter or minute lateral ones erect,
the elongated middle one horizontal or turned downward; low (5--18'
high) and branching, mostly tufted annuals, and the spikelets in nearly
simple spikes._
[++] _Middle awn more or less coiled._
1. A. ramosissima, Engelm. Culms much branched; spikes loose, usually
exserted; lower glumes 6--10'' long, exceeding the upper, usually rather
strongly 3--5-nerved; middle awn 1' long, soon abruptly hooked-recurved,
the lateral ones 1--3'' long.--Dry prairies of Ill., Ky., and Mo.--Also
var. UNIARISTATA, Engelm., with the lateral awns wanting.
2. A. basiramea, Engelm. Spikes closer, mostly enclosed at base, at all
the lower nodes (even to the base of the culm) very short and sessile;
lower glumes 4--8'' long, mostly thin and 1-nerved or rather faintly
3-nerved; middle awn very slender, 6'' long, the lateral 2'' long.--Ill.
to Neb. and Minn.
3. A. dichotoma, Michx. (POVERTY GRASS.) Culms low, very slender, much
branched throughout, ascending; spikelets in narrow strict simple or
compound spikes; lower glumes nearly equal (3--4'' long), longer than
the flowering glume and fully equalling its minute lateral awns (or
unequal and shorter, in var. CURTISSII, Gray), the soon reflexed middle
awn about as long.--Dry, sandy or gravelly fields; common, Maine to
Ill., and southward.
[++][++] _Middle awn nearly straight (not coiled)._
4. A. gracilis, Ell. Culms slender, erect (6--18' high), naked above and
terminating in a slender raceme- or spike-like virgate panicle; lower
glumes 1-nerved, about the length of the upper, the exserted lateral
awns varying from one third to fully half the length of the horizontally
bent middle one: or in var. DEPAUPERATA, from one fifth to one third its
length.--Sandy soil, coast of Mass., and from Ill. southward.--Middle
awn 3--9'' long in the ordinary forms, but not rarely shorter, and very
variable often on the same plant.
[+][+] _Awns all diverging and alike, or the lateral ones moderately
shorter, rarely at all coiled._
[++] _Glumes equal or the middle one longer._
5. A. stricta, Michx. Culms (2--3 deg. high) densely tufted from a
_perennial_ root, bearing a (1 deg.) long _spiked panicle_; leaves
involute-thread-form, long, rigid, sometimes downy; awns about the
length of the glumes (6'') or the lateral one third shorter.--Va. and
southward.
6. A. oligantha, Michx. Culms (6--20' high) tufted from an _annual_
root, bearing a _loosely few-flowered raceme_; leaves short, somewhat
involute when dry; lower glume 3--5-nerved (nearly 1' long); _awns
capillary_, 11/2--3' long, much exceeding the slender spikelet.--Va. to
Ill., and common southwestward.
7. A. purpurea, Nutt. Perennial; culms (1 deg. high or less) densely tufted,
spreading; leaves revolute and filiform, short; panicle loose, of rather
few slender-pedicellate spikelets; lower glumes thin, 1-nerved, loose,
the outer about half the length of the inner, which is 8--10'' long;
awns 2--4'' long.--Minn. and Dak. to Tex.--Very variable.
[++][++] _Middle glume shorter than the lower; perennials,
simple-stemmed, 2--4 deg. high._
8. A. purpurascens, Poir. (Pl. 8.) _Glabrous_; leaves long, rather
involute; spikelets in a (10--18') long spiked panicle; lower glumes
1-nerved; _awns much longer than the spikelet_, the middle one about 1'
long.--Mass. to Mich., Minn., and southward; common.
9. A. lanata, Poir. Tall and stout; _leaves_ tardily involute, _rough_
above, rigid; _sheaths woolly_; panicle (1--2 deg. long) spike-like or more
compound and open; glumes 1-nerved, 6--8'' long; middle awn 1'
long.--Del. to Fla.
[*][*] _Awns united below into one, jointed with the apex of the glume;
root annual._
10. A. tuberculosa, Nutt. Culm branched below (6--18' high), tumid at
the joints; panicles rigid, loose, the branches in pairs, one of them
short and about 2-flowered, the other elongated and several-flowered;
lower glumes (1' long, including their slender-awned tips) longer than
the upper, which is tipped with the common stalk (about its own length)
of the 3 equal divergently-bent awns (11/2--2' long) twisting together at
the base.--Sandy soil, E. Mass. to N. J.; also Wisc., Minn., and
southward.
20. STIPA, L. FEATHER-GRASS. (Pl. 8.)
Spikelets 1-flowered, terete; the flower falling away at maturity (with
the conspicuous obconical bearded and often sharp-pointed callus) from
the membranaceous persistent lower glumes. Fertile glumes coriaceous,
cylindrical-involute and closely embracing the smaller palet and the
cylindrical grain, having a long and twisted or tortuous simple awn
jointed with its apex. Stamens mostly 3. Stigmas plumose.--Perennials,
with narrow involute leaves and a loose panicle. (Name from [Greek:
sty/pe], _tow_, in allusion to the flaxen appearance of the feathery
awns of the original species. In our species the awn is naked.)
[*] _Callus or base of the flower short and blunt; lower glumes
pointless._
1. S. Richardsonii, Link. Culm (11/2--2 deg. high) and leaves slender; panicle
loose (4--5' long), with slender few-flowered branches; lower glumes
nearly equal, oblong, acutish (21/2--4'' long), about equalling the
pubescent linear-oblong fertile one, which bears a tortuous awn 6--9''
long.--Pleasant Mountain, near Sebago Lake, Maine, Mt. Marcy, N. Y.,
north shore of L. Superior, Mont., and northward.
[*][*] _Callus pungently pointed, at maturity villous-bearded; flowering
glume slender and minutely bearded at the tip; empty glumes
taper-pointed._
2. S. avenacea, L. (BLACK OAT-GRASS.) (Pl. 8.) Culm slender (1--2 deg.
high); leaves almost bristle-form; _panicle open; fertile glume
blackish, nearly as long as the lower ones_ (about 4'' long); the awn
bent above, twisted below (2--3' long).--Dry woods, S. New Eng. to
Wisc., and southward.
3. S. spartea, Trin. (PORCUPINE GRASS.) Culm rather stout (11/2--3 deg. high);
_panicle contracted; fertile glume linear_, 3/4--1' long (including the
long callus), pubescent below, _shorter than the_ lanceolate slender
subulate pointed greenish _lower glumes_; the twisted strong awn (31/2--7'
long), pubescent below, rough above.--Plains and prairies, from Ill. and
N. Mich. northwestward.
4. S. viridula, Trin. Culms clustered, 1--3 deg. high or more; panicle
narrow and usually dense, 6--18' long; glumes very thin, 3--4'' long;
fertile glume usually somewhat silky, with a short callus; awn 1' long,
slender, glabrous or a little pubescent below.--W. Minn., Dak., and
southwestward.
21. ORYZOPSIS, Michx. MOUNTAIN RICE. (Pl. 8.)
Spikelets 1-flowered, nearly terete. Lower glumes herbaceous or
thin-membranaceous, several-nerved, nearly equal, commonly rather longer
than the oblong flower, which is deciduous at maturity, and with a very
short obtuse callus or scar-like base. Flowering glume coriaceous, at
length involute so as closely to enclose the equal palet and the oblong
grain; a simple untwisted and deciduous awn jointed on its apex. Stamens
3. Squamulae 2 or 3, conspicuous. Stigmas plumose.--Perennials, with
rigid leaves and a narrow raceme or panicle. Spikelets greenish, rather
large. (Name composed of [Greek: o)/ryza], _rice_, and [Greek: o)/psis],
_likeness_, from a fancied resemblance to that grain.)
[*] _Styles distinct, short; culm leafy to the summit; leaves broad and
flat._
1. O. melanocarpa, Muhl. Leaves lanceolate, taper-pointed; sheaths
bearded in the throat; panicle simple or sparingly branched; awn thrice
the length of the blackish glume (nearly 1' long).--Rocky woods, N. Eng.
to Penn., Minn., Mo., and westward. Aug.--Culm 2--3 deg. high.