branching dense panicle. Glumes all herbaceous, keeled, awn-pointed,
rough-ciliate on the keel; the flowering one 5-nerved, the upper most
commonly smaller and thinner. Stamens 3. Grain lance-oblong, acute,
free.--Stout tufted perennial; leaves keeled. (_Dactylos_, a name in
Pliny for a grass with digitate spikes, from [Greek: da/ktylos], _a
finger_.)
D. GLOMERATA, L. Rough, rather glaucous (3 deg. high); leaves broadly
linear; branches of the panicle naked at base; spikelets
3--4-flowered.--Fields and yards, especially in shade. June. (Nat. from
Eu.)
63. BRIZA, L. QUAKING GRASS. (Pl. 10.)
Spikelets many-flowered, ovate or heart-shaped, flattish-tumid; the
flowers closely imbricated. Glumes roundish, unequal, purplish, very
concave or ventricose, 3--5-nerved; the flowering ventricose on the
back, heart-shaped at the base, papery-membranaceous and becoming dry,
scarious-margined, obscurely many-nerved; the palet much smaller, ovate,
flat. Stamens 3. Stigmas branched-plumose. Grain flattened parallel with
the glumes, adhering to the palet.--Leaves flat; panicle loose, diffuse,
with large showy spikelets often drooping on delicate pedicels. ([Greek:
Bri/za], the Greek name of a kind of grain.)
B. MEDIA, L. Panicle erect, the branches spreading; spikelets
5--9-flowered (3'' long); lower glumes shorter than the first flowering
one; root perennial.--Pastures; sparingly eastward. June. (Adv. from
Eu.)
64. POA, L. MEADOW-GRASS. SPEAR-GRASS. (Pl. 10.)
Spikelets ovate or lance-ovate, laterally compressed, several- (2--10-)
flowered, in an open panicle. Empty glumes mostly shorter than the
flowers, the lower smaller; flowering glume membranaceo-herbaceous, with
a delicate scarious margin, compressed-keeled, pointless, 5-nerved (the
intermediate nerves more obscure or obsolete), the principal nerves
commonly clothed with soft hairs at and toward the often cobwebby base;
palet membranaceous, 2-toothed. Stamens 2 or 3. Stigmas simply plumose.
Grain oblong, free.--Culms tufted, from perennial roots, except n. 1.
Leaves smooth, usually flat and soft. ([Greek: Po/a], an ancient Greek
name for grass or fodder.)
[*] _Low and spreading (3--6' high) from an annual or biennial root,
flaccid; branches of the short panicle single or in pairs._
P. ANNUA, L. (LOW SPEAR-GRASS.) Culms flattened; panicle often 1-sided,
usually short and pyramidal, sometimes more slender (P.
cristata, _Chapm._); spikelets crowded, very short-pedicelled,
3--7-flowered.--Cultivated and waste grounds, everywhere. April--Oct.
(Nat. from Eu.)
[*][*] _Low; the culms (6--20' long) geniculate-ascending from a running
rootstock, rigid, very much flattened; panicle simple and contracted._
P. COMPRESSA, L. (WIRE-GRASS. ENGLISH BLUE-GRASS.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1--4.)
Pale, as if glaucous; leaves short; panicle dense and narrow, somewhat
one-sided (1--3' long), the short branches mostly in pairs; spikelets
almost sessile, 3--10-flowered, flat.--Dry, mostly sterile soil, in
waste places; rarely in woods. (Nat. from Eu.)
[*][*][*] _Low alpine or alpestrine species, erect, in perennial tufts._
[+] _Soft and flaccid, smooth or nearly so, even to the branches of the
panicle; leaves short and flat, short-pointed; ligule elongated._
1. P. alpina, L. Culms rather stout (8--14' high); _leaves broadly
linear_, especially those of the culm (11/2--2' long, 11/2--3'' wide);
_panicle short and broad_; spikelets broadly ovate, 3--9-flowered (about
3'' long); flowering glume villous on the midrib and margins.--N. Maine
(?), Isle Royale and north shore of Lake Superior, and northward. (Eu.)
2. P. laxa, Haenke. Culms slender (4--9' high); _leaves narrow; panicle
somewhat raceme-like, narrow_, often one-sided and nodding; spikelets
2--4-flowered, one half smaller.--Alpine mountain-tops of Maine, N. H.,
and N. New York, and high northward (Eu.)
[+][+] _More strict and rigid, roughish, especially the panicle; ligule
short._
3. P. nemoralis, L. Culms 6--20' high; leaves narrow, short, soon
involute; branches of the panicle 2--5 together, very scabrous;
spikelets purplish (or sometimes pale), 2--5-flowered; lower _glumes
ovate-lanceolate and taper-pointed_, the flowering lanceolate, somewhat
webby at base, villous on the keel and margins below the middle, its
nerves obscure. (P. caesia, _Smith._)--The more common form has a usually
narrow somewhat nodding panicle, with short ascending branches, the
small pale or purplish spikelets 2-flowered. Lab. to N. Maine and N.
Vt.; Lake Champlain (_Pringle_); N. shore of L. Superior to N. Iowa, and
westward.--A form with somewhat stouter and stricter habit, the darker
or often pale spikelets 3--5-flowered (P. caesia, var. strictior,
_Gray_), corresponds nearly to the European P. caesia. High mountains of
N. H. and Vt., and Gardner's Island, L. Champlain (_C. E. Faxon_), Isle
Royale and N. shore of L. Superior, and westward.--Also a form with the
branches of the short panicle broadly divaricate; N. Wisc. (_Lapham_).
(Eu.)
[*][*][*][*] _Taller (1--3 deg.) meadow or woodland grasses; panicle open._
[+] _Spikelets mostly very numerous and crowded on the rather short
rough branches (usually in fives) of the oblong or pyramidal panicle,
green, or sometimes violet-tinged; flowers acute, crowded, more or less
webbed at base._
4. P. serotina, Ehrhart. (FALSE RED-TOP. FOWL MEADOW-GRASS.) Culms
tufted without running rootstocks; leaves narrowly linear, soft and
smooth; _ligules elongated; spikelets_ 2--4- (rarely 5-) flowered
(1--2'' long), _all short-pedicelled_ in an elongated panicle, often
tinged with dull purple; flowers and glumes narrow; _flowering glume
very obscurely nerved_.--Wet meadows and low banks of streams; common,
especially northward. July, Aug.--A good grass for moist meadows. (Eu.)
5. P. pratensis, L. (JUNE GRASS. SPEAR GRASS. KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS.) Culms
sending off copious _running rootstocks_ from the base, and the _sheaths
smooth; ligule short and blunt_; panicle short-pyramidal; _spikelets_
3--5-flowered, _crowded_, and mostly _almost sessile_ on the branches,
ovate-lanceolate or ovate; _flowering glume 5-nerved, hairy on the
margins_ as well as keel.--Common in dry soil; imported for pastures and
meadows. Indigenous in mountain regions from N. Penn. to New Eng., and
northward. May--July. (Eu.)
P. TRIVIALIS, L. (ROUGHISH MEADOW-GRASS.) Culms erect from a somewhat
decumbent base, but no distinct running rootstocks; _sheaths and leaves
more or less rough; ligule oblong, acute_; panicle longer or with the
branches more distant; spikelets mostly 3-flowered, broader upward;
_flowering glume prominently 5-nerved, naked at the margins_; otherwise
nearly as in the preceding.--Moist meadows, etc. July. (Nat. from Eu.)
[+][+] _Spikelets fewer and more scattered, on slender pedicels; plants
soft and smooth, flowering early. (No running rootstocks, except in
n. 10.)_
[++] _Spikelets small (1--2'' long), pale green, rather loosely
2--4-flowered; flowers oblong, obtuse; flowering glume scarcely
scarious-tipped; culm-leaves lance-linear, acute, 1--3' long._
6. P. sylvestris, Gray. _Culm flattish_, erect; branches of the
oblong-pyramidal panicle short, numerous, in fives or more; _flowering
glumes villous on the keel its whole length, and on the margins below
the middle_, sparingly webbed at base.--Rocky woods and meadows, western
N. Y. to Wisc., Kan., and southward. June.
7. P. debilis, Torr. _Culms terete_, weak; branches of the small panicle
few and slender (the lower l1/2--2' long to the few spikelets), in pairs
and threes; _flowers very obtuse, smooth and glabrous_, except a sparing
web at base.--Rocky woodlands, R. I. to Penn. and Wisc. May.
[++][++] _Spikelets 2'' long, light green; oblong-lanceolate flowers and
glumes acute._
8. P. alsodes, Gray. Leaves rather narrowly linear, acute, the uppermost
(21/2--4' long) often sheathing the base of the narrow and loose panicle,
the capillary branches appressed when young, mostly in threes or fours;
flowering glume very obscurely nerved, villous on the keel below, and
with a narrow cobwebby tuft at base, otherwise glabrous.--Woods, on
hillsides, N. Eng. to Penn. and Va., west to Wisc. May, June.
[++][++][++] _Spikelets larger (3--4'' long), pale green, rarely
purple-tinged, few and scattered at the ends of the long capillary
branches (mostly in pairs or threes) of the very diffuse panicle;
flowers 3--6, loose, oblong and obtuse, as is the larger glume;
flowering glume conspicuously scarious at the apex, villous below the
middle on the keel and margins; culms flattish, smooth._
9. P. flexuosa, Muhl. (not of Wahl.) Culms 1--3 deg. high, tufted, its
_leaves all linear (2--5' long), gradually taper-pointed; panicle very
effuse_ (its branches 2--4' long to the 4--6-flowered spikelets or first
ramification); _flowering glume prominently nerved, no web_ at the
base.--Dry woods, Penn. and Del. to Ky., and southward. Feb.--May.--Near
the last.
10. P. brevifolia, Muhl. Culms 1--11/2 deg. high from _running rootstocks_,
2--3-leaved, the _upper leaves very short (1/2--2' long), lanceolate, all
abruptly cuspidate-tipped_; branches of the short panicle mostly in
pairs; spikelets 3--4-flowered; _flowering glume rather obscurely
nerved, cobwebby at base_.--Rocky or hilly woodlands, Penn., Va., and
sparingly westward to Ky. and Ill. April, May.--Culm scarcely surpassing
the long root-leaves.
65. GRAPHEPHORUM, Desv. (Pl. 10.)
Spikelets 2--4-flowered, compressed, the rhachis pilose on one side,
jointed, produced above the flowers into a hairy pedicel. Empty glumes
thin-membranaceous, acute, carinate, mostly nearly equalling the remote
flowers; flowering glume thin and membranaceous or scarious, convex,
scarcely keeled, faintly nerved, entire, pointless and awnless. Stamens
3. Stigmas plumose. Ovary glabrous.--Perennial, with linear flat leaves,
their sheaths closed at base, the spikelets in a loose panicle. (Named
from [Greek: graphi/s], _a pencil_, and [Greek: phe/ro], _to bear_, from
the terminal hairy pedicel.)
1. G. melicoideum, Desv. Culm 1--2 deg. high; leaves roughish; panicle open;
glumes unequal, lanceolate, their midrib and the pedicels rough.--N.
Maine, N. Vt., Upper Mich., and northward; rare.--Var. MAJUS, Gray, is a
luxuriant form, 2--3 deg. high, with ampler panicle; borders of a swamp,
Macomb Co., Mich. Aug.
66. SCOLOCHLOA, Link.
Spikelets 2--4-flowered, subterete. Rhachis hairy at the base of the
flowers, ending in a naked pedicel. Empty glumes concave, membranaceous,
unequal, the outer 3-nerved, acute, the inner 5-nerved, toothed at the
apex, nearly equalling the flowers; flowering glume more rigid,
prominently 7-nerved, toothed at the apex; nerves all parallel. Stamens
3. Stigmas plumose. Ovary hairy.--Tall perennials, growing in water,
with loosely sheathing leaves, and spikelets in a lax panicle. (Name
probably from [Greek: sko~los], _a prickle_, and [Greek: chlo/a],
_grass_.)
1. S. festucacea, Link. Stout, 3--4 deg. high, smooth; leaves rough on the
margins; panicle suberect; spikelets 3--4'' long. (Festuca borealis,
_Hook_.)--Emmet Co., Iowa (_Cratty_), and northward.
67. GLYCERIA, R. Br. MANNA-GRASS. (Pl. 10.)
Spikelets terete or flattish, several--many-flowered; the flowers mostly
early deciduous by the breaking up of the rhachis into joints, leaving
the short and unequal 1--3-nerved membranaceous lower glumes behind.
Flowering glume and palet naked, of a rather firm texture, nearly equal;
the glume rounded on the back, scarious (and sometimes obscurely
toothed) at the blunt or rarely acute summit, glabrous, prominently
5--7-nerved, the nerves parallel and separate. Squamulae fleshy and
truncate, or none. Stamens commonly 2. Styles present; stigmas
compoundly plumose. Ovary smooth. Grain oblong, free, the furrow very
narrow or none.--Perennial smooth marsh grasses, mostly with creeping
bases or rootstocks; spikelets panicled. (Name from [Greek: glykero/s],
_sweet_, in allusion to the taste of the grain.)
[*] _Spikelets ovate, oblong, or linear-oblong, 1--3'' in length_,
[+] _At length nodding in an open panicle, flattish laterally but
turgid._
1. G. Canadensis, Trin. (RATTLESNAKE-GRASS.) Culm stout, 2--3 deg. high;
leaves long, roughish; panicle oblong-pyramidal, at length drooping;
spikelets ovate, at length very broad and tumid, Briza-like, 2'' long,
pale, with purplish glumes; flowering glume acute or blunt-pointed,
firm, with not very prominent nerves, longer than the rounded
palet.--Bogs and wet places; common from Penn. to E. Kan., and
northward. July.
[+][+] _Erect in a narrow contracted panicle, somewhat flattened and
turgid._
2. G. obtusa, Trin. Culm stout, 1--2 deg. high, very leafy; leaves long,
smooth; _panicle narrowly oblong, dense_ (3--5' long); spikelets
3--7-flowered, 2--3'' long; flowering glume obtuse.--Bogs, E. New Eng.
to Penn. and southward, near the coast.
3. G. elongata, Trin. Leaves very long (1 deg. or more), rough; _panicle
narrowly racemose, elongated_ (1 deg. long), _recurving_; the branches and
3--4-flowered spikelets _appressed_; flowering glume obtuse.--Wet woods,
N. Eng. to Mich., Minn., and northward; Roan Mt., N. C. (_Scribner_).
July--Aug.
[+][+][+] _Diffuse; flower-glume truncate-obtuse, strongly 7-nerved;
palet 2-toothed._
4. G. nervata, Trin. (FOWL MEADOW-GRASS.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1--3.) Culm
erect, 1--3 deg. high; leaves rather long; branches of the loose _panicle_
capillary, _at length drooping, the numerous small spikelets_ (1--2''
long, commonly purplish) _ovate-oblong_, 3--7-flowered.--Moist meadows;
common. June.
5. G. pallida, Trin. Culms slender, 1--3 deg. long, ascending from a
creeping base; leaves short, sharp-pointed, pale; _branches of the
rather simple panicle slender, erect-spreading_, rough; the _spikelets
usually few, somewhat appressed, oblong-linear_, 5--9-flowered (pale,
2--3'' long); _flowering glume minutely 5-toothed_; the palet
lanceolate, conspicuously 2-toothed.--Shallow water; Maine to Va., west
to Ky., Ind., and Mich.; common, especially northward. July.
6. G. grandis, Watson. (REED MEADOW-GRASS.) Culm stout, upright, 3--5 deg.
high; leaves large (1--2 deg. long, {1/3}--1/2' wide); _panicle much branched,
ample_ (8--15' long), _the numerous branches ascending, spreading with
age; spikelets oblong or linear-oblong_, 3--6-flowered (usually
purplish, 2--3'' long); _flowering glume entire_. (G. aquatica of Amer.
authors.)--Wet grounds; N. Eng. to western N. Y., Mich., Minn., and
westward.
[*][*] _Spikelets linear (1/2--1' long), pale, appressed on the branches
of the long narrow racemose panicle, terete except during anthesis;
palets minutely roughish, the upper 2-toothed; squamulae unilateral or
united; ligule long; culm flattened (1--5 deg. high), ascending from a
rooting base._ (Glyceria, _R. Br._)
7. G. fluitans, R. Br. Panicle 1 deg. long; the simple branches appressed,
finally spreading below; leaves short and rather broad, very smooth;
spikelets 7--13-flowered; _flowering glume oblong, obtuse_, or the
scarious tip acutish, entire or obscurely 3-lobed, usually rather longer
than the blunt palet.--Shallow water; common. June--Aug.
8. G. acutiflora, Torr. Spikelets 5--12-flowered, few and scattered;
_flowering glume oblong-lanceolate, acute, shorter than the long
tapering point of the palet_.--Wet places, Penn. to Maine; rather rare.
June.--Resembles the last; but the erect leaves smaller, the separate
flowers twice the length (4'' long), and less nerved.
68. PUCCINELLIA, Parl. (Pl. 16.)
Characters as in Glyceria, but the flowering glumes inconspicuously or
obsoletely 5-nerved; squamulae thin and distinct; stigmas sessile and
simply plumose; grain compressed, often broadly furrowed.--Mostly saline
species; perennial. (Named for Prof. _Benedetto Puccinelli_, an Italian
botanist.)
1. P. maritima, Parl. (GOOSE-GRASS. SEA SPEAR-GRASS.) _Root
stoloniferous_; culms erect, 1--11/2 deg. high; _leaves involute, acute or
pungent_; lower _branches of the narrow panicle often solitary or in
pairs, appressed_ or more or less spreading; spikelets 3--6'' long,
oblong or linear, 4--9-flowered; flowering glumes rounded at the summit,
11/2'' long. (Glyceria maritima, _Wahl._ Atropis maritima,
_Griseb._)--Marshes along the coast; not rare, and somewhat variable in
the form of the panicle and size of the glumes. (Eu.)
Var. (?) minor, Watson. Culms low and slender, from very slender
creeping rootstocks; leaves very narrow and involute; ligule long;
panicle short and very narrow; spikelets 2--4-flowered, the flowers 1''
long or less.--Shore of Mt. Desert Island (_E. L. Rand_); Labrador
(_J. A. Allen_).--Probably rather a form of the western P. airoides (Poa
airoides, _Nutt._).
2. P. distans, Parl. _Not stoloniferous_; culms rather stout, geniculate
below; _leaves mostly flat, short_; ligule short; _lower branches of the
panicle in fours or fives_, usually more or less naked at base, soon
_spreading_ and at length deflexed; spikelets 2--3'' long,
3--6-flowered; flowering glume truncate-obtuse, 1/2--1'' long. (Glyceria
distans, _Wahl._ Atropis distans, _Griseb._)--Salt marshes along the
coast and on ballast; apparently much rarer than the last, and perhaps
not native. (Eu.)
69. FESTUCA, L. _Fescue-grass_. (Pl. 10.)
Spikelets 3--many-flowered, panicled or racemose; the flowers not webby
at base. Lower glumes unequal, mostly keeled. Flowering glumes
chartaceous or almost coriaceous, roundish (not keeled) on the back,
more or less 3--5-nerved, acute, pointed, or often bristle-awned from
the tip, rarely blunt; the palet mostly adhering at maturity to the
enclosed grain. Stamens 1--3.--Flowers, and often the leaves, rather dry
and harsh. (An ancient Latin name of some kind of grass, of uncertain
meaning.)
[*] _Flowers awl-shaped, bristle-pointed or awned from the tip; panicle
contracted._
[+] _Annuals or biennials, slender, 5--18' high; leaves
convolute-bristle-form._
F. MYURUS, L. Panicle spike-like, one-sided; spikelets about 5-flowered;
lower glumes very unequal; _awn much longer than the flowering glume_,
fully 6'' in length; stamen 1.--Dry fields, Nantucket, Mass., to Del.,
and southward. July. (Nat. from Eu.)
1. F. tenella, Willd. Panicle spike-like, one-sided, or more compound
and open; spikelets 7--13-flowered; _awn 1--3'' long or more, usually
shorter than or about equalling the glume_; stamens 2.--Dry sterile
soil, especially southward. June, July.
[+][+] _Perennial, tufted, 6--24' high; stamens 3._
2. F. ovina, L. (SHEEP'S FESCUE.) Glaucous, 1/2--2 deg. high; leaves mostly
radical, very narrow and convolute; panicle somewhat one-sided, short,
usually more or less compound, open in flowering; spikelets
3--8-flowered; awn not more than half the length of the flower, often
much shorter or almost wanting.--Indigenous in northern New Eng., about
Lake Superior, and northward; naturalized farther south as a pasture
grass. June.--Varies greatly.--Var. VIVIPARA, L. (which with us has
running rootstocks), a state with the spikelets partially converted into
leafy shoots, is found on the alpine summits of the White Mts., and high
northward.--Var. DURIUSCULA, Koch, is a tall form, with spikelets rather
larger, usually in a more compound panicle; culm-leaves often flat or
less convolute, and the lower with their sheaths either smooth or hairy.
New Eng. to Va., and westward, as a naturalized plant, and indigenous
northward. A native form of this variety with a lax panicle,
2--4-flowered spikelets, and slender awns nearly as long as the glume
(var. rubra, of last ed.), is found on Keweenaw Peninsula (_Robbins_)
and Isle Royale, L. Superior (_Gilman_). (Eu.)
[*][*] _Flowers oblong or lanceolate, awnless or nearly so (11/2--4''
long); grain often free! (Root perennial; culms mostly tall; leaves
flat.)_
3. F. nutans, Willd. Culm 2--4 deg. high, naked above; leaves broadly
linear, taper-pointed, dark green, often rather hairy; _panicle of
several long and slender spreading branches_, mostly in pairs,
_drooping_ when old, rough, naked below, bearing near their extremity a
few ovate 3--5-flowered spikelets (3'' long) on pretty long pedicels;
_flowers ovate-oblong, rather obtuse, close together_, coriaceous,
smooth, very obscurely 5-nerved.--Rocky woods and copses. July.--A
common form with the panicle more or less contracted and somewhat erect
has been distinguished as F. Shortii.
F. ELATIOR, L. (TALLER or MEADOW FESCUE.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1--3.) _Panicle
narrow_, contracted before and after flowering, _erect, with short
branches_; spikelets crowded, 5--10-flowered; _flowers rather remote,
oblong-lanceolate_; flowering glume 5-nerved, scarious-margined, blunt,
acute, or rarely with a distinct but very short awn.--The type is large,
3--4 deg. high; spikelets about 6'' long, in an ample and compound panicle.
Rich grass-land.--Var. PRATENSIS, Gray (F. pratensis, _Huds._), is lower
(1--3 deg. high), with a simpler or close panicle of smaller or narrower
spikelets, and abounds in grass-lands. June--Aug. (Nat. from Eu.)
F. GIGANTEA, Vill. Erect, glabrous, 3--4 deg. high; leaves bright green,
3--6'' broad; panicle very loose, nodding; spikelets 3--6-flowered;
flowering glumes 3'' long, with a slender awn of twice the length.--Of
rare occurrence near the coast. (Nat. from Eu.)
70. BROMUS, L. BROME-GRASS. (Pl. 10.)
Spikelets 5--many-flowered, panicled. Glumes unequal, membranaceous; the
lower 1--5-, the upper 3--9-nerved. Flowering glume either convex on the
back or compressed-keeled, 5--9-nerved, awned or bristle-pointed from
below the mostly 2-cleft tip; palet at length adhering to the groove of
the oblong or linear grain. Stamens 3. Styles attached below the apex of
the ovary.--Coarse grasses, with large spikelets, at length drooping, on
pedicels thickened at the apex. (An ancient name for the Oat, from
[Greek: bro/mos], _food_.)
Sec. 1. _Flowering glume oblong, turgid, and convex on the back; the
flowers imbricated over one another before expansion; lower empty glume
distinctly 3--5-nerved, the upper 5--9-nerved._
[*] _Perennial; indigenous. Lower glume strongly 3-nerved, the upper
5-nerved._
1. B. Kalmii, Gray. (WILD CHESS.) Culm slender (11/2--3 deg. high); leaves and
sheaths conspicuously or sparingly hairy; panicle simple, small (3--4'
long); spikelets drooping on capillary peduncles, closely
7--12-flowered, densely silky all over; awn only one third the length of
the lance-oblong flower; flowering glume 7--9-nerved, much longer and
larger than the palet.--Dry ground, N. Eng. to Penn., Mo., Minn., and
northward. June, July.
[*][*] _Annuals or biennials, introduced into grain-fields, or rarely in
waste grounds._
B. SECALINUS, L. (CHEAT or CHESS.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1, 2.) _Panicle
spreading, even in fruit_, the drooping peduncles little branched;
_spikelets oblong-ovate, turgid, smooth_, of 8--10 rather distant
flowers; glume rather longer than the palet, short-awned or awnless;
sheaths nearly glabrous.--Too common in wheat-fields. June, July. (Adv.
from Eu.)
B. MOLLIS, L. (SOFT CHESS.) _Whole plant downy; panicle more erect,
contracted in fruit; spikelets conical-ovate_, somewhat flattened;
flowers closely imbricated; _glume acute_, equalling the
awn.--Wheat-fields, N. Y. to Va.; scarce. June. (Adv. from Eu.)
B. RACEMOSUS, L. (UPRIGHT CHESS.) Very similar to the last, but nearly
glabrous or the sheaths sometimes hairy; glumes glabrous and shining.
(Adv. from Eu.)
Sec. 2. _Flowering glume somewhat convex, but keeled and laterally more or
less compressed, at least above; flowers soon separating from each
other; lower empty glume 1-nerved, the upper 3-nerved, or with an
obscure additional pair._
[*] _Perennial, tall (3--5 deg. high); flowers oblong or lanceolate._