2. Puccinellia Angustata (R. Br.) Nash. Arctic Meadow-Grass

Fig. 644

Poa angustata R. Br. App. Parry's Voy. 287. 1824. Panicularia angustata Scribn. Mem. Torr. Club 5: 54.

1894. Puccinellia maritima var. minor S. Wats, in A. Gray,

Man. Ed. 6, 668. 1890. P. angustata Nash, Bull. Torr. Club 22.: 512. 1895.

Smooth and glabrous, culms 4'-12' tall, erect, simple. Sheaths usually overlapping; ligule 1" long; blades 1/2'-2 1/2' long, 1" wide or less; panicle 1'-2' in length, contracted, the branches short and erect or appressed; spikelets 2-7-flowered, 3"-4" long; empty scales obtuse or rounded at the apex, the first 1-nerved, the second 3-nerved; flowering scales 1 1/4"-1 1/2" long, usually purplish, rounded at the apex.

Greenland and Hudson Bay to Alaska, south to Connecticut. Also in Europe and Asia. Summer.

3. Puccinellia Distans (L.) Pari. Spreading Meadow-Grass. Sweet-Grass

Fig. 645

Poa distans L. Mant. 32. 1767.

Glyceria distans Wahl. Fl. Ups. 36. 1820.

Puccinellia distans Parl. Fl. Ital. 1: 367. 1848.

Culms 1 -2 tall, decumbent at the base, tufted, smooth and glabrous. Sheaths often shorter than the internodes, smooth and glabrous; ligule 1/2"-1" long; blades up to 4' long, l"-2 wide, flat or folded, usually stiff and erect, smooth beneath; panicle 3'-7' in length, open, the branches finally spreading, whorled, the lower up to 4 1/2' long, sometimes reflexed, naked below; spikelets crowded, 3-6-flowered, 1 1/2"-2 1/2" long; empty scales obtuse or acute, 1-nerved, the second exceeding the first and less than half the length of the first flowering scale, the truncate flowering scales 3/4"-1" long.

On salt meadows, sea beaches and in waste places, Nova Scotia to Delaware. Probably naturalized from Europe. Sea-meadow-grass. July-Aug.

4. Puccinellia Fasciculata (Torr.) Bicknell. Torrey's Meadow-Grass

Fig. 646

Poa fasciculata Torr. Fl. U. S. 1: 107. 1824.

P. fasciculata Bicknell, Bull. Torr. Club 35: 197. 1908.

Culms 1°-2° tall; sheaths smooth and glabrous; ligule about 1/2" long, truncate; blades erect, up to 5' long, 1 1/2"-3" wide, smooth beneath, rough above; panicle 3'-5' long, its branches spikelet-bearing to the base, usually ascending; spikelets about 2" long, the empty scales obtuse or acute, the second one less than one-half as long as the first flowering scale, the flowering scales 1"-1 1/4" long, obtuse or acutish, glabrous or nearly so.

Salt marshes, Nantucket to New Jersey. May and June.

5. Puccinellia Airoides (Nutt.) Wats. &Coult. Slender Meadow-Grass

Fig. 647

Poa airoides Nutt. Gen. 1: 68. 1818.

Panicularia distans airoides Scribn. Mem. Torr. Club

5: 54. 1894. Puccinellia airoides Wats. & Coult. in A. Gray, Man. Ed.

6, 668. 1890.

Culms 1°-4° tall, erect, simple, smooth and glabrous. Sheaths usually longer than the internodes; ligule 1" long; blades 2'-6' long, 1 1/2" wide or less, flat or involute, usually erect, smooth beneath, rough above; panicle open, its branches slender, spreading or ascending, rarely erect, the lower 2'-3 1/2' long and often reflexed; spikelets scattered, 1-7-flow-ered, 1 1/2"-3" long; empty scales unequal, the first acute, 1-nerved, the second obtuse or acute, 3-nerved, more than half the length of the obtuse flowering scales, which are 1"-1 1/4" long.

In saline soil, southwestern Ontario to the Northwest Territory, south to Kansas and Nevada. July-Aug. Puccinellia Borreri (Bab.) Hitchc. is reported as growing on ballast and in waste places from Delaware to Nova Scotia. It is related to P. fasciculata (Torr.) Bicknell.