5. Agropyron Dasystachyum (Hook.) Vasey. Northern Wheat-Grass

Fig. 690

Triticum repens var. dasystachyum Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 2:

254. 1840. Agropyrum dasystachyum Vasey, Spec. Rept. U. S. Dept,

Agric. 63: 45- 1883. Agropyron subvillosum E. Nels. Bot. Gaz. 38: 378. 1904.

Glaucous, culms 1°-3° tall, erect, from long running rootstocks, simple, smooth and glabrous; sheaths shorter than the internodes; ligule very short; blades 2'- 9' long, 1"-3" wide, flat, or becoming involute in drying, smooth beneath, rough above; spike 22-7' in length; spikelets 4-8-flowered; empty scales 3-5-nerved, lanceolate, acuminate or short-awned, 3"-4 1/2" long; flowering scales broadly lanceolate, 5-nerved, 4 1/2"-6" long, acute or short-awned, densely villous.

Hudson Bay to the Yukon, south to the Great Lakes,. Nebraska and Colorado. Summer.

6. Agropyron Biflorum (Brignoli) R. & S. Purplish Wheat-Grass

Fig. 691

Triticum biflorum Brignoli, Fasc. PI. Foroj. 18. 1810. Agropyron biflorum R. & S. Syst. 2: 760. 1817. Agropyrum violaceum Vasey, Spec. Rept. U. S. Dept. Agric. 63: 45. 1883.

Culms 6'-2° tall, erect, simple, smooth and glabrous. Sheaths usually shorter than the internodes; ligule very-short; blades 2'-6' long, 1"-3" wide, flat or involute, rough or sometimes smooth beneath; spike 1-4' in length, occasionally longer, 2"-3" broad; spikelets 3-6-flowered; empty scales broad, usually purplish, scarious on the margins, 5-7-nerved, 4"-6" long, acute or acuminate, sometimes awn-pointed, rarely long-awned; flowering scales often purplish, 5-7-nerved, scarious on the margins, 4"-6" long, acuminate or short-awned, the awn rarely as long as the body.

Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south to the mountains of New England, New York and Pennsylvania, and in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado. Ascends to 5500 ft. in the White Mountains. Also in northern Europe and Asia. Summer.

7. Agropyron Tenerum Vasey. Slender Wheat-Grass

Fig. 692

A. tenerum Vasey, Coult. Bot. Gaz. 10: 258. 1885.

Agropyron novae-angliae Scribn. Contr. Bot. Vt. 8: 103. 1900.

Glabrous, culms 2°-3° tall, erect, simple, often slender, smooth. Sheaths usually shorter than the internodes, glabrous; ligule very short; blades 3'-10' long, 1"-2" wide, flat or involute, rough; spike 3'-7' in length, usually narrow and slender; spikelets 3-5-flowered; empty scales 4"-6" long, acuminate or short-awned, 3-5-nerved, scarious on the margins; flowering scales 5"-6" long, 5-nerved, awn-pointed or short-awned, scarious on the margins, often rough toward the apex.

In dry soil, Newfoundland to British Columbia, south to Kansas, Colorado and California. July-Aug.

8. Agropyron Caninum (L.) R. & S. Bearded Or Awned Wheat-Grass. Fibrous-Rooted Wheat-Grass

Fig. 693

Triticum caninum L. Sp. PI. 86. 1753. Agropyrum caninum R. & S. Syst. 2: 756. 1817. Agropyrum unilaterale Cassidy, Bull. Colo. Agric. Exp.

Sta. 12: 63. 1890. A. Richardsoni Schrad. Linnaea 12: 467. 1838.

Culms 1°-3° tall, erect, simple, smooth and glabrous. Sheaths usually shorter than the internodes, smooth, the lower sometimes pubescent; ligule short; blades 3'-9' long, 1"-3" wide, smooth beneath, rough above; spike 3'-8' in length, sometimes one-sided, often nodding at the top; spikelets 3-6-flowered; empty scales 4 1/2"-6" long, 3-5-nerved, acuminate, awn-pointed or bearing an awn 1"-3" long; flowering scales 4"-5" long, usually scabrous toward the apex, acuminate into an awn sometimes twice their own length.

New Brunswick to the Yukon, south to North Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa and Colorado. Also in Europe and Asia. Native northward; southward locally naturalized from Europe. Dog's-tooth grass. July-Aug.