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Il il 1761 ini 3 pneret eT td OY deg qoteeeue titer Ci eceter ha tetesacdtenenengtets Reeth t Pee tran he Leterme pe ocst praca seweate rane enaeeipeete® rier re tere Pee tor eed LPN COT EAST O8 tee shee atete A tee ey hey + ehh tet ete ote ste dm! plata pts tan genten ae py Pr eeerr fey eierrriy teers stetreete alee ayes «A yerenecie peeerrrerie-renrerr ttt eePrirriie a: h yy ht) spcnetec mu end tent irprutiatiel : ai) ny Bae tayeg lata n pees Step rert eeeet tee let he oth UE tee Fk teen ~s teoere oth rete ee tee fanieee roe Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/bookofgrassesill0Ofranuoft THE BOOK OF GRASSES SALT-MARSH COCKSPUR GRASS (Echinochloa Walieri) en bb O OK OF GRASS ES AN FUE ST RATED GUIDE. TO: THE COMMON GRASSES, .AND THE MOST COMMON OF THE RUSHES AND SEDGES BY MARY EVANS FRANCIS ILLUSTRATED BY H. H. KNIGHT, ARTHUR G. ELDREDGE AND SARAH FRANCIS DORRANCE GARDEN CIty New York DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY I9i2 CRT REIT LT CRA LTRS te a re SY erat ft Ki OCT a OQ i¥ eae ' 1981 ry \ * ar : 3 VA Nim, Vf “yf A com, £ £ Copyright, 1912, by DouBLepay, Pace & ComMPANY All rights reserved, including that of translation into Foreign Languages, including the Scandinavian ““"a babbled of green fields.” PREFACE TuE little that has been written about our common grasses has dealt chiefly with their economic value, and has been published for the agriculturist, to whom that value is paramount. Or, it has, on the other hand, been too technical to be of service to the casual student of our wild flowers who has had comparatively little aid, aside from scientific and agricultural works, in recognizing the different species of this vast family. In preparing the following pages I have intended that the descriptions, though accurate, should not obscure the beauty of the grasses with a mass of technical terms, but should be so simple that the wayfaring man who enjoys the verdure of our waysides might become more intimately acquainted with the most common plants. An important aid in recognizing the grasses will be found in the illustrations, which, made from the living plants, present not only the most noticeable characteristics of growth, but also deline- ations of the parts of the flowers. The technical descriptions, which follow the general de- scriptions, are the results of careful observations and measurements of many specimens. The descriptions include the common grasses and the most common of the rushes and sedges found from Canada southward to Virginia, and from the Atlantic coast westward to the Missis- sippi River. The greater number of species given are found throughout the United States. I wish to acknowledge indebtedness to the following valuable works: “The True Grasses,” by Eduard Hackle; “American Grasses,”’ by Dr. Lamson Scribner; ‘Grasses of North America for Farmers and Students,” by William J. Beal; and ‘Descriptive Catalogue of Grasses of the United States,’’ by Dr. Geo. Vasey. Mary EvANs FRANCIS. vii LIST OF, CONFENTS Preface. Of Grasses : The Most Important realty of the Veaerabie Faaidon Stem, Leaf, and Flower : A Calendar of the Common Grasses Grasses Arranged According to Locations Key to the Grasses , Illustrated Descriptions of the ere The Sedge Family Rushes , Index to English Nee Index to Latin Names 259 329 341 349 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Coloured Plates Salt-marsh Cockspur Grass (Echinochloa Walteri) . Frontisptece PAGE Foxtail Grasses (Setaria) . . oy ico) | Indian Rice, or Wild Rice Grae aquatica He vA palustris) 87 Red-top (Agrostis alba) .. . SR AA ote AaB Ea Snake Grass (Eragrostis Pea iya) a rs oN 10 We ahA TO IE @Orchara!Grass (Dactylis:glomeraia): 2 3) 88 es) 3 FBO Fringed Brome-grass (Bromus ciliatus) . . . . . . . 223 PSKGINE-OTASS, CD \BIISSTNIUS tha NS) bal eeop Mess seh ws ca |) 2DG Brome-grass (B. incanus) . BT EN OS, ee Rng 7 Slender Wild Rye (Elymus si MURR Swe ass owe he DAS WOO GrraASS “(OCI PUSTCVPETINUS) seh oe eB Sie ee el 255 Great Bulrush (S. validus) . . . MEMES Noctis! Sk eat 6 Neh aB ET Yellow Nut-grass (Cyperus sonny REMAN LEAN oly) ey) cn ODL Bristle-spiked Cyperus (C. sirzgosus)).. 25. . « «-- 263 Chair-maker’s Rush (Scirpus americanus) . . . . . . 28! LoxeSeave (aren vulpinoided) i) ris ee Ss 305 Stem, leaf, and flower PME PA iis Baar. Nisei A 5 lon RS EMC S ie eevee Aree Prat ella) ial hee ay wf) AO Panicies) .\:) 5). 3 AVOENA 9 12 a 0 Grass flowers and their parts TAO ee so Need. eh) bats hau Neel Gama Grass) (Tripsacum daciyloides) . . 3. . . . « »', §0 Beard-grass (Andropogon scoparius) . . ... .. . 50 Broom Sedge on sandy soil (A. virginicus) . ... . 51 Rerued, Beard-prass (A. furcatus) 6. 4.0. we 5B Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) . ....... 50 Large Crab-grass (Digitaria sanguinalis) . .... + 57 Beaee Gtap-etass (1). SANPHINAIS)) cles ek oe ew 5D Slender Paspalum (Paspalum setaceum)..... . =. 60 Old Witch-grass (Panicum capillare) bitte Patios ste SE Veto Xi The Book of Grasses Old Witch-grass (P. capillare) Bitter Panic-grass (P. amarum) Cockspur Grass (Echinochloa crusts) Salt-marsh Cockspur Grass (E. Waltert) Scribner’s Panic-grass (Panicum Scribnerianum) Hispid Panic-grass (P. clandestinum) Cockspur Grass (Echinochloa crusgallt) Long Panic-grass (Panicum agrostoides) The Deserted Garden . Yellow Foxtail (Setaria glauca) Green Foxtail (S. viridis) Bur-grass (Cenchrus carolinianus) Indian Rice (Zizania palustris) Indian Rice by the border of a stream Rice Cut-grass (Leersia oryzoides) Rice Cut-grass (L. oryzoides) White-grass (L. virginica) : Reed Canary-grass (Phalaris Prindinsccaya) Reed Canary-grass (P. arundinacea) sade Sweet Vernal-grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) Vanilla Grass (Hierochloé odorata) White-grained Mountain Rice ee asperiflia Black Oat-grass (Stipa avenacea) Slender Aristida (Aristida gracilis) Purplish Aristida (4. purpurascens) Sea-beach Aristida (4. tuberculosa) h Meadow Muhlenbergia (Mublenbergia mexicana) Long-awned Hair-grass (M. capillaris) Long-awned Wood-grass (Brachyelytrum EN Long-awned Wood-grass (B. erectum) Timothy (Phleum pratense) Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pees Sheathed Rush-grass (Sporobolus saginaeflorus) Gauze-grass (S. uniflorus) Red-top (Agrostis alba) Rough Hair-grass (4. byemalis) : Blue-joint Grass (Calamagrostis enn Nuttall’s Reed-grass (C. cinnoides) Blue-joint Grass (C. canadensis) in Reneck Marsh . Blue-joint Grass (C. canadensis) xil List of Illustrations PAGE Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria) . . Sa See ae 7 Marram Grass (A. arenaria) in drifting one Sa ce TG Wood Reed-grass (Cinna arundinacea) . . .... . I31 Silvery eliait-erass (4ira caryoppylleay or ee 2 NelvetwGrass: (Flolcus*lanaies) twice yas eeliy od is aS 33 Marsh. Oats, (Sphenopholss palustris eee eS ss IBS Meadow. Sphenopholis: (S: pallens)... Sc 5S Wavy Hair-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa) . . . . . . 137 Wavy Hair-grass (D. HO le PHM HEL NA TG Gultivated Oats’. 5... Wee HRM ON HAIR has hae oF, AO rmeyateda Wheat os diye Meanie na woe mee eta om N.S TAY Gultivated Rye... SP Ants STATE Meadow Oat-grass (Genes He a ctod Wa ALA U7) Wild Oat-grass (Danthonia spicata) . . . 143 Creek Sedge in bloom on the marsh (Spartina Ha var. pilosa)... a) AG Blossoming spikes of Greek Setias (S. elitivak var pilosa) Ss 017 Salt Reed-grass by the marsh (S. cynosuroides) . . . . 149 Sale, eed-crass. CS. ‘eynosuroides\y...0ie a Fox-erass, rank) in. growth» (S:) patems)) 3. 5 oe 5 Fox-grass covering the marsh (S. patens) . . . . . . 155 Fox-grass growing through sand (S. patens) . . . . . 157 Pen OasSeC Oe Palen) alton chiar ake Li Nees OREO Fox-grass (S. patens) . . RaW ES EEG Kes VETO Creek Sedge (S. glabra, var. Slee) wy (glist May EAE Ot AL ame 5) Bemuuda, Grass (Cynodon: Daciylon) i es 8 82 3) 163 Tall Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) KREMER oa es VEOA Wire-grass (Eleusine indica). . . Ses G5 Salt-meadow Leptochloa (Leptochloa ieeeeaularisyi eat eS Salt-meadow Leptochloa (L. fascicularts) . . . . . . 167 eped CE Dragmiles COMMENTS) ) Ua Wa Le Re. 169 pamcd-orass: (lr plasisn purpurea) ii 6.) Wee. ae. ATI Sand-grass (T. purpurea) SOR oe FEE RE a. MEARS Tufted Eragrostis (Eragrostis Mina Sahn CARA colin. neers \eas ork gor Strong-scented Eragrostis (E. megastachya) . . . . . 179 Peepie Bracrostis (2) peciinacea) 28 oo. es 180 Narrow Melic-grass (Melica mutica) . . . . . . . . 182 Purple Oat (M. striata) . . Ngan eae ee} to Broad-leaved Spike-grass (imine: latefalnale ictivdirr’ Speers Marsh Spike-grass (Distichlis spicata) . ..... . 184 Xill The Book of Grasses Marsh Spike-grass (D. spicata) . Lady’s Hair (Briza media) Field of grasses Orchard Grass acne pope ial Crested Dog’s-tail (Cynosurus cristatus) Low Spear-grass (Poa annua) ; Kentucky Blue-grass (P. Hic False Red-top (P. triflora) Canada Blue-grass (P. compressa) . False Red-top (P. triflora) Wood Spear-grass (P. sylvestris). Densely flowered Manna-grass (Glyceria Obey Rattlesnake Grass (G. canadensis) Nerved Manna-grass (G. nervata) Tall Manna-grass (G. grandis) Pale Manna-grass (G. pallida) Nerved Manna-grass (G. nervata) . Floating Manna-grass (G. septentrionalis) Goose-grass (Puccinellia maritima) Goose-grass (P. maritima) Spreading Spear-grass (P. ane Slender Fescue (Festuca octoflora) . Red Fescue (F. rubra) Meadow Fescue (F. elatior) . Meadow Fescue (F. elatior) . Fringed Brome-grass (Bromus pias) Downy Brome-grass (B. tectorum) Chess (B. secalinus) Ray-grass (Lolium perenne) Ray-grass (L. perenne) Couch-grass (Agropyron taneas)) Couch-grass (A. repens) Squirrel-tail Grass (Hordeum: ipa) Cultivated Barley ne Terrell-grass (Elymus virginicus) Nodding Wild Rye (FE. canadensis) Terrell-grass (EF. virginicus) Bottle-brush Grass (Hystrix tala) Bottle-brush Grass (H. patula) Cyperus (Cyperus hystricinus) XIV 194 PAGE 185 188 191 193 196 197 198 199 201 203 207 207 208 209 209 211 213 214 215 215 217 218 219 221 222 229 230 231 233 235 237 239 240 241 245 249 249 251 205 Cyperus (C. diandrus) . Bristle-spiked Cyperus (C. sea Slender Cyperus (C. filiculmis) f Pond Sedge (Dulichium arundinaceum) . Slender Spike-rush (Eleocharis tenuis) Large Spike-rush (EF. palustris) Slender Spike-rush (EF. tenuis) Spike-rush (E. obtusa) Matted Spike-rush (E. Eee Sand-mat (Stenophyllus capillaris) . : Slender Fimbristylis (Fimbristylis Pee Great Bulrush (Scirpus validus) : Salt-marsh Bulrush (S. robustus) Wool-grass (S. cyperinus) Meadow Bulrush (S. atrovirens) Wool-grass and Bulrushes ee in marsh Cayuga Marsh . . River Bulrush (S. (Es | Meadow Bulrush (S. atrovirens) Salt-marsh Bulrush( S. robustus) Salt-marsh Bulrush (S. robustus) Salt-marsh Bulrush (S. robustus) by the ee of the Sond 207 Virginian Cotton-grass (EF. virginicum) White Beaked-rush (Rynchospora alba) Slender Cotton-grass (Eriophorum gracile) ' Virginian Cotton-grass (EF. virginicum) Clustered Beaked-rush (R. glomerata) Low Nut-rush (Scleria verticillata) List of Illustrations PAGE 267 269 270 271 271 273 275 275 277 279 279 283 283 284 Scales, seeds, and perigynia of sedges pioneisa to the genus Gane Oo’ Tufted Sedge (Gan ea Pennsylvania Sedge (C. Dear incica) Bladder Sedge, (C. intumescens) Hop Sedge (C. lupulina) . Fringed Sedge (C. crinita) Little Prickly Sedge (C. pind) Slender Sedge (C. gracillima) Sedges (C. lurida, C. cristata, C. dey ataliey Hop Sedge (C. lurida, var. gracilis) Hop Sedge (C. Pseudo-Cyperus) XV The Book of Grasses Hop Sedge (C. retrosa) Hop Sedge (C. lupuliformis) Fringed Sedge (C. crinita) Fox Sedge (C. vulpinoidea) Fescue Sedge (C. festucacea) Yard Rush (Juncus tenuis) Small-headed Rush (/. brachivee nbalus A Bog Rush (J. effusus) . i Sharp-fruited Rush (/. Ree miniias) Grass-leaved Rush (J. marginatus) Yard Rush (J. tenuis) Toad Rush (J. bufonius) . ; Sharp-fruited Rush (/. acuminatus) Bog Rush (J. effusus) . Knotted Rush (J. nodosus) Jointed Rush (J. articulatus) Black Grass (/. Geradz) Common Wood-rush (Luzula ie) XVi PAGE 317 319 By) 321 321 325 327 330. B30 330 331 332 BBP 335 37, 337 339 333 cf i; DN ; a ey Ry hom ter gt 4? a” ae ty i ’) ae hab Ah TO wae OF GRASSES From spring until late autumn grasses bloom by every way- side, and in field and meadow form the green carpet of the earth. Widely distributed throughout all countries, and abundant even in far-away prehistoric days, they still remain the most important family of the vegetable kingdom, and — of all common plants the most common —the least commonly known. Yet from the moment when the first violet lifts its blossom to the sunlight until in autumn the witchhazel’s delicate flowers are seen above fast- falling leaves, there is never a day when grasses are not in bloom, and never a week in summer when a score of different species may not be gathered. In richness and variety of colouring, above their undertone of green, the blossoms and wind-blown anthers of the grasses rival in beauty the flowers that the wayfaring man collects. The grace of swaying stem and drooping leaf, the delicacy of tiny flowers tinged in rose and purple, and the infinite variety shown in form and colouring are lost upon those who are intent on seeking flowers that the forests make rare. Grasses there are, stout and higher than one’s head, and grasses so slender that their dying stems among wayside weeds are like threads of gold; grasses whose panicles of bloom are more than half a yard in length, and of a colour which only a midsummer sun can burn into August fields; grasses so stiff that winter’s snow leaves them unbroken, and grasses so tiny that their highest flower is raised but a few inches from the soil. Nearly one thousand species are found in the United States, nor is the study of these plants so difficult as it is thought to be. When accuracy in determining the individual species is desired, a small microscope and a few needles for dissecting the blossoms are all that is necessary. Even without these aids an intimate ac- quaintance with the grasses may be gained by observing only their most obvious characteristics of growth, and the various forms of flowering heads. Notice closely the grasses in a low meadow of early summer: the dense growth of green, hastily characterized as 3 The Book of Grasses “ orass,” may contain many different species of this vast family, species which at a second glance are seen to have each their own distinguishing features. Like charity the study of grasses may begin at home, and, like charity also, this most fascinating of nature studies may be carried far afield, for the grasses, most numerous of all flowering plants, we have always with us. ‘Tree-like in the tropics the Bamboos, largest of the grass family, lift their blossoms one hundred feet and more toward the sky; in cold countries moss-like grasses cringe and cling to the frozen ground, and through the temperate regions of the globe grasses grow in luxuriance of form and colouring and supply a background of green against which the world of trees and rivers, of brooks and ledges, is placed on colours ever chang- ing, and ever perfect. Nature is continually busy reclaiming the unsightly places abandoned by man, covering with a garment of green the hillsides torn by rain, and carpeting with her “matted miracles of grass”’ the humble waysides. The traditional spirit of the seasons is symbolized by outdoor colouring: cool, pale tints of early spring, rose-colour of June, warm tones of August fields, and a glory of purple and gold when the summer is past and the harvest ending. In all this continuity of change, which keeps the face of Nature so new in its world-old familiarity, the grasses bear their part, and as the violet and wild geranium of spring give place to midsummer hardhack, which in turn is pushed aside by goldenrod and asters, so the passing months bring fresh grasses into bloom and mark the calendar of the year by the flowering of these common plants. It still is true, however, that “The world misprizes the too-freely offered And rates the earth and sky but carelessly.” The dandelion is less honoured than the arbutus, yet even the dandelion receives greater honour than do the early grasses, which aid in changing earth’s wintry shroud to living green. Grasses yield us the earliest intimations of spring, as a faint flush of green, in harmony with the soft colours of April woods, tinges the brown hillsides before snows have ceased. The first grasses are more delicately coloured than are those of midsummer when the sun burns red and purple into the tiny flowers. The green spikelets 4 Of Grasses of many spring grasses depend for colour upon their lightly poised anthers of lavender and gold. Sweet Vernal-grass, Orchard Grass, and June Grass, so characteristic of spring, are succeeded by spreading panicles of Hair-grass, bayonet-like spikes of Timothy, and the richly coloured Red-top whose blossoms burn with mid- summer’s warmth. September has still new grasses to offer, and in this month the Beard-grasses are conspicuous, as their stiff stems at last attain a growth that will enable them to withstand snow and frost. In many localities from fifty to one hundred dif- ferent grasses may be gathered, and, although, unlike the lilies, they do not flaunt their colours garishly, yet in rose and lavender, in purple and an infinite scale of green they rest and charm the eye with their beauty from April to October, when frosts bring to them new hues of brown and yellow in which they clothe the earth until green blades again push through spring turf. Our waysides are the accepted gardens of many plants which, having followed the path of mankind through the New World, take the highways of civilization for their own, and find abundant means for transportation as seed is fastened on passers-by, or carried by the wind along smooth pathways. Few are the grasses that cannot be found in these wayside gardens as the roads wind through fertile country, from uplands to rich meadows, or pass sandy shores, where in a variety of soils the different grasses bloom and add a mass of verdure to the border of the way. Throughout the season these common gardens of the wayside hold a constantly changing procession of grasses; a procession which begins with Low Spear-grass and Sweet Vernal-grass in April, and ends in October with the Dropseed-grasses and the Beard-grasses, al- though even in winter the species that remain standing may still be recognized. Rarer flowers must be sought in deep woods and in hidden places in the swamps, but the cosmopolitan grasses are fitted to take up the struggle for existence wherever the seed chances to fall. Dean Herbert rightly says that “plants do not grow where they like best but where other plants will let them.” By way- sides we may see this struggle in its intensity as a dozen species strive for the same plot of ground and grow in tangles that in- clude low cinquefoil and tall briars. The strife is always most intense between individuals of the same species, and here the grasses grow in profusion, occupying each inch of space, pushing 5 The Book of Grasses out into deserted country roads, and spreading far and wide by means as interesting as ever the more noted flowering plants employ. Bur-grass, with its thorny seed-burs, catches on passing ob- jects and thus secures free portage to new fields; Terrell-grass by thick, corky scales floats its seed upon the streams near which it grows; Beach Grass defies the sand to bury it and is found at the tops of the highest sand-dunes, with whose rise it has kept pace, the long roots of the grass penetrating to the base of the dune; and Couch-grass, sending sharp-pointed rootstocks rapidly through the soil, is a veritable “land-grabber.” Where the purslane and poppy produce a multitude of seeds from every flower, each blossom of the grass ripens but one, yet so richly stored is this with nutriment, and frequently so well protected against germination under unfavourable conditions, that the one seed may be worth many of those less perfectly equipped, since, in the process of evolution, diminution in the number of seeds is accompanied by an increase in the effectiveness of those that remain. The twisted awns of certain grasses —e. g., Sweet Vernal- grass and Wild Oat — show one of the most interesting mechan- isms seen in the vegetable world. These awns, or bristle-like appendages of the grass flower, are extremely sensitive to atmos- pheric changes, and by their peculiar structure aid in burying the seed beneath the surface of the soil. In Sweet Vernal-grass the scale, to which the ripened seed adheres, bears a brown awn, bent and twisted near its middle, and beset with minute, upward- pointing hairs on its basal part. Such awns are strongly hygro- scopic and during cold or dry weather remain tightly twisted, thus holding the seed where it chances to be. Under the influence of moisture the awn untwists and by its rotation drives the fallen seed slowly but surely beneath the soil. Although dry weather may follow, causing the awn to become twisted again, the upward- pointing hairs catch on particles of earth or grass and, holding the seed down, prevent it from being drawn up. Thus it lies ready for the next shower when the awn pushes the seed farther into the earth. This peculiarity of structure is easily observed without the aid of the microscope. If a few of the ripened seeds be laid upon the moistened palm of the hand they will immediately begin to move, as if alive, and the rotating of the awn may be plainly seen. 6 Of Grasses Interesting experiments have been made whereby it has been seen that in sand, alternately wet and dried, the awns of certain grasses will bury the seed several inches beneath the surface. Each locality shows characteristic grasses, and as in a short walk we pass from low meadows to dry hillsides we find new species to excite fresh interest. On sea beaches we look for the long, gray-green leaves of Marram Grass, or Beach Grass, for spreading clumps of Sea-beach Panic-grass, for the dark, wiry stems of Fox- grass, and for rigid-leaved grasses of hot sands. Salt marshes show dense jungles of reed-like grasses, Creek Sedge, Salt Reed- grass, and the tall Reed. Dry hillsides are covered in spring by Wild Oat-grass and Wavy Hair-grass, where later Purple Finger- grass, Sheathed Rush-grass, and stiff Beard-grasses will bloom. In dry fields we look for the low growth of the smaller Panic- grasses, for the slender, one-sided spikes of Field Paspalum, and for wide-spreading panicles of Purple Eragrostis. Borders of woodlands offer Poverty Grass, Black Oat-grass, and Muhlen- bergias, while in deep woods we search for shade-loving grasses, the tall, slender Bottle-brush Grass, the lower Mountain Rice, and the Nodding Fescue. Marshy meadows are full of interest to the student of grasses: Reed Canary-grass with broad, blue-green leaves borders narrow brooks, and nearby the Blue-joint Grass, slender and stiff, rises bearing narrow, deeply coloured panicles; graceful Manna Grasses fill the marshes of early summer, and later the rough leaves and stems of Rice Cut-grass form tangled masses in low grounds. By river-borders grows the great Gama Grass whose leaves are so broad as to resemble those of our cul- tivated corn, and in wet soil, also, is found the tall Indian Rice on which the reed-bird feeds. A country dooryard of an acre may show more than a dozen different grasses, while in the garden near half a score of other species invade the cultivated land as weeds. A large collection of grasses, preserved either as herbarium specimens or in the more artistic impression prints made upon photographic paper, may be gathered in a short time, and dif- ferences perhaps little noticed by the casual observer will seem marked indeed to the student who at the close of a summer’s study will deem it as unpardonable to mistake one of our common grasses for another as to mistake an elm for an oak. Corn, wheat, oats, the day of the first cultivation of these cereal grains long antedates history, and how seldom is it realized 7 The Book of Grasses that they are grasses. Vergil and Columella wrote long ago of the care of meadows and fields. Indeed the word cereal stands as an article of faith in the goddess Ceres, who searched with torches for the grain carried off by winter frost, and on finding the seed raised it to its flower once more. Bertha was the Ceres of German mythology, and winds and rains affecting crops were believed to be under her control. Corn-spirits there were which were sym- bolized under the forms of wolves and goat-legged creatures, similar to classic satyrs. To the older peasantry of Germany and Russia these corn-spirits still haunt and protect the fields which show the “Grass-wolf”’ or ‘‘ Corn-wolf’’ to be abroad when the wind, as it passes, bends the grass and the ripening grain. The last sheaf of rye is occasionally left afield as shelter for the “ Roggen- wolf,” or “ Rye-wolf,” and it is not long since the Iceland farmer guarded the grass around his fields lest the mischievous elves, hiding among the grasses, and ever waiting to harm him, should invade his cultivated land. In old herbals the word grass, gres, gyrs meant any green plant of small size, and though we have restricted the meaning of the word it still is carelessly applied to a multitude of sedges and rushes which in manner of growth and form of flower differ markedly from the true grasses. To the casual observer the grasses are but “grass,” and to few is their diversity, their beauty, and their value apparent. We are blind to the infinite variety shown by Nature in these common plants, of which we often know scarcely more than do the cattle that feed upon them; yet on no other family of flowering plants does the beauty of the green earth and its adaptation as a home for man so largely depend. THE MOST IMPORTANT FAMILY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM “And he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.’’— Gulliver's Travels. CAN one imagine the world grassless —a barren waste? The shifting soil, exposed to the elemental workers, wind and water, could offer no sure abiding place for man, since, lacking a tenacious network of grass roots firmly binding the soil, the road of to-day might be obliterated to-morrow, and the loftiest building gradually buried beneath wind-blown sand. As soil-binders the grasses performed a leading part in the important task of rendering the globe habitable to the human race, and still sending their roots far and wide through the surface of the ground the grasses form a turf which holds in check the de- structive forces of wind and rain, and gives secure anchorage not only to the lower growth of plants but also to trees and shrubs. Grasses were abundantly developed in prehistoric days, as numerous remains of grass-like leaves attest, and since the earliest tribes chipped rude implements for cultivating the soil, or for their use in war, the grasses have exceeded in importance to man- kind any other family of the vegetable kingdom. The green herbage of meadow and pasture is the chief food of domesticated animals, and in this country the value of hay alone exceeds that of any other crop except corn, which, be it remem- bered, is itself a grass. Even the salt marshes yield their hay, and in New England pastures, where rocks seem as numerous as grass blades, sheep crop the wiry grasses of dry hillsides. A noted grass-garden was owned in Woburn a century ago by the Duke of Bedford, and in this garden George Sinclair carried on valuable researches of which he wrote in his “Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis.” Tirelessly were the experiments made, in cultiva- II The Book of Grasses ting the grasses, in drying them, in dissolving their soluble parts, in evaporating the solution, and finally in submitting the residuum to chemical analysis. Grass stems contain a large amount of silica, and in such seed as that of the species known as “ Job’s Tears” the hardness due to a silica deposit nearly equals that of agate. Minute particles of silica in the outer cell walls serve in keeping grass stems firm and erect, and if we carefully burn the vegetable matter from one of these stems a perfect skeleton of the structure is left. It is said that wheat straw, without the addition of other material, may be melted into colourless glass, and that barley melts into glass of topaz yellow. The varied form and texture of the grasses adapt them to many uses, and even the common grasses of our northeastern states have been made into ropes, mats, paper, baskets, and many fine- plaited articles. Fragrant fans of dark-coloured fibres are made in India from the aromatic rootstocks of a grass, and the entire plant is woven into screens which, when dampened and placed in a current of air, perfume the breeze. Lemon Grass and Ginger Grass, natives of tropical Asia, yield oils strongly scented, as their names imply, and the rootstock of a grass in South America is sometimes used as a substitute for soap. A few grasses have been used medicinally, and have been cultivated for medicinal purposes. But it is as food for man, and for the domesticated animals on which he is most dependent, that the grasses have attained their highest importance, and it is on them largely that the great human family is fed to-day. The world has seemed to draw a line between the grasses of the fields and those plants that produce well-filled heads of cereals, and has ceased to regard the latter as grasses. Yet the useful grains — corn, wheat, rye, barley, rice, and oats — belong to one family, and are but grasses that have been brought by man to a superior degree of excellence. Rice and wheat have been cul- tivated from time immemorial, and although a century ago wheat was wheat, yet to-day new strains have been developed which grow where in older days the grain could not have been raised. Indian corn originated in tropical America, and is one of the few cereals whose native condition is known. It had attained a wide distribution when this country was discovered, and the grain must have been in use in very ancient times. Early explorers 12 Utility of Grasses found the Indians cultivating corn with primitive implements — hoes made of a sharpened stone or the shoulder blade of a moose — and even then the seeds were described as “somewhat bigger than small peason,” while later the Pilgrims could boast the cultiva- tion of varieties of which “the graine be big.” Botanically, corn is one of the most interesting of the grasses and is very unlike those found in daily walks through the country. The stamens of corn are in ornamental spikes which terminate the stems, while below, on spikes which are borne in the axils of the leaves, are the fertile flowers. These are densely crowded on a thickened rachis, commonly known as the corn-cob, and are covered with husks which are the sheaths of abortive leaves and which have the leaf- blades more or less developed. The flowering scales and palets are found in the chaff covering the cob, and the silken “tassels” at the summit of each ear are elongated pistils. Aerial roots, thrown from the lower nodes, serve as prop-roots, supporting the stem, and imitating in a small way the growth of a few other tropical plants. Sugar Cane is also a grass that has been brought from the wilderness and has been made to pay the toll of usefulness which man would fain exact of all vegetation. In warmer countries the great Bamboos, which are but grasses of a larger growth, are utilized as shelter, clothing, and food. Of these giant grasses houses are built which may be entirely furnished with articles made of Bamboo, and the household, wearing jackets and hats made of the same material, may gather tender shoots of the plant for use as a vegetable. A small section of the stem forms a cup, and a larger section a pail; paper and ropes are manufac- tured from the plant; umbrellas and exquisite boxes are made of the split internodes, and intricate appliances for spinning are fashioned entirely of Bamboo. And these are but a few of the uses that the several species of these grasses serve. Indeed, a complete list of articles made of Bamboo would be a catalogue far too long for insertion in these pages. Impenetrable “canebreaks” of the South are formed of two grasses similar to the Bamboos, though smaller in growth. The stout, jointed stems of the more southern species (the Large Cane), are used for fishing rods and are made into canes and pipes. As thatching the stems form a strong and serviceable shelter, and when split are woven into baskets and mats. The Small Cane 13 The’ Book of Grasses - (Arundinaria técta) grows as far north as Maryland, and by streams and river banks forms evergreen thickets from three to twelve feet in height. A reed of southern Europe and Palestine belongs to a closely related genus, and from this grass the heroes of Homer are said to have made their arrows and with it to have thatched the tent of Achilles. Pan-pipes, such as Orpheus might have used in charming the Dryads from their leafy shelters, were also made from the smooth stems of this reed. Of all flowering plants the grasses are the most widely distrib- uted, and innumerable are the ways in which they have served mankind since, in the story of Eden, the earth brought forth these common plants as the first of its flowers. 14 STEM, LEAF, AND FLOWER i ON iy ANY tL) STEM LEAR. ANDSFEOWER Roots.— Many grasses spread in all directions by strong run- ners, or rootstocks, as they are called, which are, in reality, underground stems. These runners differ from the true, fibrous roots in consisting of a succession of joints from which upright stems arise, and from which true roots penetrate the soil and anchor the rootstock as it stretches far from the parent plant. Such grasses rapidly take possession of the ground, and as the rootstocks, interlacing in endless network, are thickened with a large amount of nourishing material, these grasses are enabled to endure drouth and unfavourable seasons. _Rootstocks of the more vigorous grasses grow many feet in a season, and the thorny, needle-like points of the growing ends often penetrate tubers and roots. Grasses that develop only fibrous roots grow more frequently in tufts and bunches. Of these grasses the Bitter Panic-grass and the common Orchard Grass are examples. Perennial grasses are more numerous than annual grasses and may usually be recognized by the presence of sterile shoots growing from the lowest joint of the stem. The greater number of perennial grasses bloom earlier than do the annual grasses, though some perennials are late in flowering, as, for example, the Beard-grasses and the Muhlen- bergias. Stems.— Grass stems are divided by joints into internodes (the space between the base of one sheath and that of the next), the point from which each sheath rises being called a node. Although nearly all grasses, with the exception of Indian Corn, Sugar Cane, Gama Grass, and the Beard-grasses, possess hollow stems, which are always closed at the nodes, the rootstocks are usually solid, and the internodes of the young stems are also solid, becoming hollow by the separation of their original pith cells, which cease to grow. The nodes remain solid and, being darker in colour, appear as bands encircling the stems. Nodes perform an interesting and important function in rais- ing stems that have been bent down. Internodes play little or 17 The Book of Grasses no part in such service, but if one notices grasses that have been beaten to earth by heavy showers, it will be seen that the lower nodes have lengthened on the side turned earthward, and that the stems are thereby bent upward at sharp angles. Sheaths — The broad, basal portion of each grass leaf is known as the sheath, and, encir- cling the stem, is an important A protection to the growing inter- ay is node. Each sheath is usually Wa ye split, or open, on the side oppo- U-“S= — site the leaf, and the edges of the sheath overlap or partly encircle the stem a second time. In suc- cessive internodes these edges lap alter- nately to right and left, and the rolling of young leaves also alternates in like man- ner. Ina few grasses —e. g., Kentucky Blue-grass and Orchard Grass — the sheaths are perfectly closed at first and , are split only as the inflorescence forces its way up. Ligule.— At the summit of the sheath is usually a thin membrane, the ligule, which closely embraces the stem and appears as an additional upward growth of the sheath or a continuation of its delicate lining. In each species the ligule is constant in form, some- times consisting of but a tiny ring or frequently appearing as a fringe of hairs. Leaves.— Grass leaves are borne alternately on opposite sides of the stem, in what is tech- nically called the two-ranked growth. The leaves of a few tropical grasses ap- proach in form those of other families of plants, and in certain species a true petiole is inserted between sheath and blade, but in temperate regions grass leaves vary only in width and length and are always “ grass-like,”’ show- Fas tds Sm ing long, parallel veins _Rootstock \ Stem, Leaf, and Flower The leaves of many grasses are twisted (to the right in some species, to the left in others), as twining plants twist with or against the sun. It is said that the leaf blade in a few grasses is sensitive, and slowly folds together when briskly rubbed. In dry weather and in dry soil it will be noticed that the leaves of certain grasses are rolled tightly, becoming involute, as it is called. As the cells on the upper surface of the leaf lose their moisture and contract under a burning sun the edges of the leaf curl inward until the stronger cuticle of the lower surface is outer- most, and thus an added protection is given against an excessive loss of moisture. The response to the external stimuli of heat and cold, of light and darkness, in the vegetable world is exquis- itely delicate. In the growth of plants, in their “sleep” at night, and in their many so-called “adaptations” to varying conditions, the student may read the life of Nature in an ever open book. INFLORESCENCE A Spike is formed when the spikelets are apparently sessile on the main axis —e. g., Couch-grass. A Panicle is formed when the spikelets are on secondary or further-divided branches —e. g., Orchard Grass and Old Witch- grass. The Rachis is that part of the stem on which the spikelets or spikelet-bearing branches are borne. FORMS The small flowers of the grasses bear little resemblance, at first glance, to the distantly related lilies; yet if some of the lilies that bloom in spikes were to crowd their flowers more and more, and were to reduce their petals to mere scales, such plants would be well 19 The Book of Grasses on the way toward a grass-like appearance. The three stamens of many grasses suggest the characteristic, three-parted form of the true lilies, while the flower- ing scale and palet of each grass blossom are a reminder of the lily calyx, the two green keels of the palet suggesting that two divisions of the calyx have been merged in one. Our wind-fertilized flowers are represen- ted chiefly by the grasses and sedges, and by early blooming trees and shrubs. Such flowers are small and produce no nectar. They have little fragrance, and their chief colouring frequently appears in the large an- thers which are so hung on hair-like filaments as to shake out pollen grains on every breeze. Spikelets — The flowers of grasses are borne in spikelets which vary in size and which are composed of one, several, or many flowers. The short stem, on which the flowers of a spikelet are placed, is known as the rachilla; this is sometimes prolonged, and, under the microscope, may be seen as a tiny thread lying outside the uppermost flower. Spikelets are arranged in spikes or panicles. In bloom the lower flow- ers of the spikelets bloom before the others, as the spikelets bloom from below upward, but in panicles the uppermost spikelets are the first to open, since the flowering-heads bloom downward, and often the upper branches of a panicle are widely spread with open flowers while the lower branches remain erect and closely appressed to the stem. \ Y 1 \ Sy ) WZ ‘ V7 WZ YW vi WW ray INY IN: Hy | \F xt ‘ at Ny Ww a7 iS AWN Vi Spikes = Scales.— Instead of flowering-leaves of sepals and petals the grasses show bracts, called scales, or glumes, surrounding each flower. The two lower scales of each spikelet are usually empty, and in the axil of each succeeding scale (except sometimes the 20 Stem, Leaf, and Flower Las ~