2. Syntherisma- Villosum Walt. Southern Slender Finger-Grass

Fig. 279

Syntherisma villosum Walt. Fl. Car. 77. 1788.

Culms densely tufted, 6-4 1/2° tall; sheaths, at least the lower ones, hirsute; blades 3'-10' long, 1 1/2"-3" wide, hirsute on both surfaces; racemes 2-8, usually exceeding 4' long, rarely shorter, erect or ascending; spikelets over 1" long, elliptic, usually in 3's, the first scale wanting, the second 3-nerved, the fourth scale deep chestnut brown at maturity.

Sandy soil, Virginia to Missouri, south to Florida and Texas. June-Oct.

3. Syntherisma Serotinum Walt. Late-Flowering Finger-Grass

Fig. 280

Syntherisma serotinum Walt. Fl. Car. 76. 1788. Panicum serotinum Trin. Gram. Panic. 166. 1826.

Culms slender, erect, often creeping and branching at the base, 8'-24' tall, smooth and glabrous; sheaths about one-half as long as the internodes, pilose with long spreading hairs; blades linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 1'-4' long, 2"-4" wide, acuminate, pilose on both surfaces; inflorescence composed of 2-6 1-sided slender erect or ascending spike-like racemes 1'-4 1/2' long, arranged singly, in pairs, or scattered and approximate; spikelets numerous, oval, about 3/4" long and one-half as broad, acute, in pairs, in 2 rows on one side of a flat and winged rachis less than 1/2" wide; first scale wanting, the second about one-half as long as the spikelet, 3-nerved, the third scale 7-nerved, both appressed-pubescent on the margins.

Fields and roadsides, southern Pennsylvania and Delaware to Florida and Mississippi.

4. Syntherisma Ischaemum (Schreb.) Nash. Small Crab-Grass

Fig. 281

Panicum lineare Krock. Fl. Sil. I: 95. 1787. Not L. Panicum Ischaemum Schreb.; Schweigger, Spec. Fl.

Erlang. 16. 1804. Panicum glabrum Gaud. Agrost. 1: 22. 1811. Syntherisma linearis Nash, Bull. Torr. Club 22: 420.

1895. Syntherisma humifusum Rydb. Mem. N. Y. Bot. Gard.

1: 469. 1900. Syntherisma Ischaemum Nash, N. Am. Fl. 17: 151. 1912.

Culms erect or decumbent, 1/2°-2° long, smooth and glabrous; leaves glabrous, the blades 1'-3' long, l"-2" wide, acuminate; racemes 2-6, 2'-4' long, narrowly linear, digitate or approximate at the summit of the culm; rachis flat, winged; spikelets about 1" long, in pairsj sometimes in 3's; first scale rarely present, second and third as long as the fourth.

In cultivated grounds and waste places, Nova Scotia to South Dakota, south to Florida and Kansas. Naturalized from Europe. July-Sept. Smooth Finger-grass.

5. Syntherisma Sanguinale (L.) Dulac. Large Crab-Grass. Finger-Grass

Fig. 282

Panicum sanguinale L. Sp. PI. 57. 1753. Digitaria sanguinalis Scop. Fl. Cam. Ed. 2, 1: 52. 1772. Syntherisma praecox Walt. Fl. Car. 76. 1788. Paspalum sanguinale Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 1: 176. 1791. Syntherisma sanguinale Nash, Bull. Torr. Club, 22: 420. 1895.

Culms erect or decumbent, often rooting at the lower nodes, 1°-3° long, smooth. Sheaths, at least the lower, papillose-hirsute; blades 2'-6' long, 2"-5" wide, acuminate, more or less pubescent; racemes 3-10, narrowly linear, 2'-6' long, digitate or in approximate whorls at the summit of the culm; rachis flat, winged; spikelets 1 1/4" long, in pairs, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, the first scale minute, rarely wanting, the second one-third to one-half as long as the spikelet, 3-nerved, the third 7-nerved.

In cultivated or waste places, throughout North America, except the extreme north. Naturalized from Europe. Widely distributed as a weed in all cultivated regions. July-Aug. Hairy Finger-grass; Crowfoot or Pigeon-grass.

6. Syntherisma Marginatum (Link) Nash. Fringed Crab-Grass

Fig. 283

Digitaria marginata Link, Enum. Hort. Berol. 1:

226. 1827. Panicum fimbriatum Link, Hort. Bot. Berol. 1:

226. 1827. Syntherisma fimbriatum Nash, Bull. Torr. Club "25: 302. 1898. Syntherisma marginatum Nash, N. Am. Fl. 17:

154. 1912.

Culms 3º long or less, finally prostrate at the base and rooting at the lower nodes; sheaths, at least the lower, densely papillose-hirsute; blades 1 1/2'-8' long, 2"-s" wide, more or less papillose-hirsute on both surfaces; racemes 3-10, 2'-7' long; spikelets 1 1/2" long, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, in pairs, the first scale minute, the second scale 3-nerved, about 1/2 as long as the spikelet, the third scale 7-nerved.

Dry sandy soil, Maryland to Kansas, south to Florida and Texas. Also in tropical America.

June-Sept.