By A. A. Eaton.

FIFTEENTH PAPER.
Varieties of E. Hiemale.

1. Intermedium A. A. Eaton. Stems 1 to 4 feet high, 1 to 4 lines in diameter, simple or ultimately branched, 20 to 30 angled, rough with transverse bands of silex or becoming smoother by a later deposit covering them; sheaths longer than broad, ampliated, green excepting narrow black and white incurved limb, or exceptionally with other black and white markings; leaves keeled below the middle, flat and often centrally grooved above; teeth thin, brown, hyaline-bordered, deciduous or persistent; anatomy of hiemale as previously described. New York, Michigan and westward. Common west of the Mississippi, being an important forage crop in some States. The anomalous laevigatum collected by Rydberg at Thedford, Neb., No. 1283 (Cont. Nat. Herb. III, 194), is this variety, as is the plant referred to under the name of variegatum by V. K. Chestnut (Cont. Nat. Herb. VII, 304), as used for various unimportant purposes by the Indians of Mendocino County, California. He also mentions the fact that horses eat it even when grass is abundant.

2. Texanum Milde. Stems erect, very slender, somewhat rough, 10 to 12 angled, hardly 1 foot high, dirty green; sheaths elongated, slightly widened, 2 to 2 1-3 lines long and 1 1-3 wide, concolorous, leaves flat, centrally grooved and 4 angled above and centrally ridged below; teeth persistent, flexuous, white with red-brown center, lance subulate, smooth, only the lowermost three sheaths red-brown; ridges convex; carinal bast 7, vallecular 4, cells high, vallecular holes transverse oval; stomata rows separated by 7 to 8 cells, grooves naked, lumen of epidermal cells very wide, angles with broad, short bands, never with two rows of tubercles. Texas, Chas. Wright.

This is Milde’s description. I have never seen this plant. Milde states that it is a very peculiar plant that equals the weakest specimens of var. Moorei, but differs greatly from it, and he asks if it may not be the young stage of a larger species.

3. Herbaceum var. nov. Cespitose, decumbent, ascending or erect, 3 to 10 inches high, ½ to 1 line in diameter, 6 to 12 angled, weak and herbaceous or becoming firmer the second year, usually bearing a single branch 1 to 2 inches long at each node. Walls of the stem thicker than in hiemale; ridges with long cross-bands; grooves naked, except for small spots of silex on the cells; sheaths elongated and very wide-spreading, with a narrow black band at tip, otherwise green or (in dried specimens at least) all suffused with black; leaves 3-angled or flat in the middle above, rarely bearing a central groove; teeth fuscous, flexuous, deciduous, leaving a hard, horny, centrally grooved erect or incurved, usually shining, borderless leaf base ½ its height; spikes narrowly elliptical, rounded, not apiculate. Coville & Funston, 1297, Death Valley Exp., banks of Kaweah river at Three Rivers, Tulare Co., Calif., July 26, 1891 (Nat. Herb., 25, 101), as variegatum. Three little plants, 3 inches high, well fruited (Cont. Nat. Mus. IV, 226). C. & F., 1042, 1 mile south of Kernville, Kern Co., Calif., on north fork of Kern river, Alt., 750 meters, June 23, 1901, as variegatum (Nat. Herb., 25100).

In some of its characters, such as sheaths and persistent, incurved leaf-bases, this plant resembles Funstoni, but the section is similar to hiemale. An abundance of material might show this to be a good species. The only thing I have seen that approaches it in texture is E. Sieboldi Milde from Japan, which is even more grass-like.

4. Pumilum var. nov. Cespitose; stems in a dense cluster, 6 to 15 inches tall, 8 to 16 angled, ½ to 1 line in diameter, mostly geniculate at the lower nodes, nearly all the joints tumid, the lower gibbous; ridges with cross-bands of silex, grooves naked; sheaths tight, often symmetrical through the tumidity of the node, narrowest in the middle except where nodes are normal, bearing a broad black band below and a narrower black limb, the two separated by a pinkish or dirty white band which is often suffused with black or even entirely black towards the top of the stem, fading to dirty ashy the second year, ultimately splitting, recurving and falling off in patches; leaves linear, erect, prominently 3-angled, the central one sometimes grooved on the smallest stems and branches; teeth persistent, dark brown, somewhat flexuous, white-bordered for 1-5 to 1-4 their height.

Found at intervals for a mile along the railroad grade at North Hampton, N. H. At the foot of the grade, in moist soil near a brook, probably from the same source as this, a form of affine grows, but the joints are often tumid and occasionally geniculate, the branches when present like stems of this, tumid jointed, often so gibbous as to rupture the sheath. Peculiar for its small cespitose stems, dark sheaths and especially the tumid or gibbous nodes, which make the stems thickest there, while usually the nodes are contracted.

This is near the European variety viride Milde, but differs in having bands on the ridges, no rosulÆ in the grooves, and in the tumid joints.

5. Suksdorfi var. nov. Stems 1 to 2½ feet high, 1 to 3 lines wide, about 24 angled, rough, with cross-walls of silex, rarely with ends elevated to two rows of tubercles; stomata in single rows, rarely double for a short distance, each stoma connected at top and bottom with its opposite by rows of rosulÆ formed by the silex bands of the grooves throwing up tubercles on each cell of the epidermis, which open at top to circular jagged disks, these often obscured later by a washing of silex, but always shown near the tops of the stems and on the branches; sheaths elongated, cylindrical, tight, black, developing a ring of tawny white which gradually increases till it occupies the whole sheath except a narrow black basal ring and a narrow black limb formed by the horny tips of the leaves; leaves linear, narrowed above the middle, the lower 2-3 keeled, the upper third flat, rarely with a narrow carinal groove above, tipped with a small, black, horny, hyaline-bordered point; teeth articulated to the leaves, black-centered, soon fading, withering and deciduous.

Anatomy of hiemale, the carinal bast elongated along the dissepiment, the vallecular much smaller but often similar in shape. Upper 1 to 3 nodes bearing 1 to 4 branches each, which overtop the stem and bear contemporaneous spikelets.

This would be a noteworthy variety even if it bore no branches. It is the only American form of heimale known to me, except occasionally intermedium which bears branches with the first effort of growth. All the others develop them, if at all, after the stem has ceased to grow, and the vegetative energy, having no other outlet, pushes out a few of the latent buds lying between the ridges at the nodes.

Bingen, Wash. High bottom land on the Columbia river. W. N. Suksdorf, September 3, 1902, No. 2161.

6. Drummondi (Milde) C. robustum Drummondi Milde, Mon. Equis. 593. Fertile stems 3 feet high, 16 angled; sheaths short, the lowest fuscous; teeth persistent, white, crispate; stomata often of 1 to 3 lines to a series, which are separated by 4 to 6 cells.

Collected by Drummond at the Brazos river in Texas. It is very aberrant, but is placed here on account of its anatomy. I have not seen specimens of this.

7. Affine (Eng.) (E. robustum affine Eng.) E. hiemale of American authors, not L. Stems 18 to 30 inches high, 2 to 5 lines in diameter, finely 16 to 40 angled, dark green, angles with broad bands of silex, rarely with two rows of tubercles. Internodes when dry contracted above and below, widest in the middle as in hiemale, scurfy when young; sheaths longer than broad, at first with a black limb, developing a broad ashy band and narrow black basal ring, fading, rupturing and deciduous the second or third year; leaves narrowly linear, sharply 3 angled, the central ridges only rarely centrally grooved except on the branches, where they usually are; commissural groove very narrow, not widened upward; teeth articulated to the sheaths, persistent or usually cohering by their tips and torn off by the growth of the stem, those of each sheath shaped like a candle extinguisher, all telescoped together and borne up on the tip of the stem.

Very common in New England and the east generally, where the type of robustum is absent. Toward the west it runs into the next, but it is occasionally found, even to the valley of Mexico (Pringle 3329). Approaches typical hiemale in its long sheaths and size, and differs little except in the cross-bands of silex. Found usually in moist sand near a watercourse; at times on high sandy banks. It is by no means certain that this is the variety described by Engelmann under this name, but from the brief description he gives it seems safe to assume that it is. Two branched forms are found, as follows:

a. Forma ramosum f. nov. (f. Ramigerum A. A. E., in Gilbert’s list, p. 26, not A. Br. in Sched., which normally branches at the 3 to 5 middle nodes.) Stems issuing one to several branches from the upper nodes after the death of the top of the main axis; teeth usually persistent and leaves centrally grooved. b. Forma polystachyum Prager. Stems issuing small spiciferous branches late in the season. As remarked by Mr. Gilbert (List, p. 26), these forms are seldom found together and many patches show neither.

The stems of this variety persist at least three years and probably longer. I have found but two causes of death, old age not appearing as a factor. Both are fungoid. After the stem has persisted for a time small white patches appear under the epidermis of the upper internode. These increase in number and the internode finally dies, not, however, till the second one shows the disease. This may continue till the whole stem succumbs. The other fungus is a smut that breaks out in small pustules, finally opening in black patches the size of the head of a pin or smaller. They are usually numerous and the stem dies rapidly.

The growth of the stem is indeterminate, but as each succeeding section is a little smaller than the one below, the time arrives in the history of each when no more can be pushed out and the growth ceases. The undeveloped internodes soon die and thus the stem, if it grows at all, must put its energy into branches, as the silex coating prevents its increase in diameter.

9. Robustum (A. Br.) E. robustum A. Br. Stems 3 to 6 feet tall, 2 to 6 lines wide, 16 to 48 angled, simple or branched the second year; ridges rough with cross-bands of silex; grooves naked with a smooth coat of silex, and when young with a thin white scurfy coat that soon falls off; sheaths tight to the stem, or recurved and deciduous in fragments in age, as broad as long, soon developing a black girdle at base, an ashy or pinkish one through the middle and a black one above, the last usually very small, all variable in breadth and intensity of color; leaves linear, sharply 3 angled; commissural groove not widened above; teeth more or less persistent for a season, seldom torn off by the growth of the stem, articulated to the leaves, cohering, in groups, brown centrally, with tawny margins ½ their height, ending in filiform usually flexuous appendages, the edges beset with unicellular bristles; branches variable in number and length, the sheaths mostly like those of the stem except the teeth always persist and the leaves are usually grooved centrally; spikes usually green, oval, up to an inch long and half as wide, sharply apiculate. Ramosum and polystachyum forms occur in this as well as in affine.

Rare east of the Mississippi, where it is replaced by var. affine. Very common west, where it has been reported from nearly every State. I have seen it from but six localities in the Eastern States, Wallingford, Pa., T. C. Palmer; Towson, Md., C. E. Waters; Peoria, Ill., F. E. McDonald; Illinois, without locality, Dr. Brendell; Mattsville, Ind., Guy Wilson; Sarnia, Mich., C. K. Dodge; accredited to New Jersey by Milde, and also found in the Himalayas.

Var. minus Eng. is simply the same thing reduced, often growing with it. As there is already a variety minus of hiemale this name will not stand, and the form is of too little moment to merit another.

Stems of this can usually be recognized at a glance, but it is hard to embody the description in words that will enable one to separate it from affine at once. From Californicum it can only be separated by use of a lens, as their appearance is identical.

10. Californicum Milde. Plants of various appearance, now 15 inches high and 4 lines wide, now 7½ to 8 feet tall and 8 lines wide, 25-40 angled; the ridges with two distinct rows of tubercles or occasionally with transverse bands of silex, the grooves abundantly supplied with rosulÆ, either in regular rows or scattered, often indistinct on old stems because of a heavy deposit of silex; sheaths as broad as long, with a broad or narrow black or dark brown ring just above the base, an ashy band in the middle and another usually narrow dark band at top. In young plants the sheaths are usually concolorous with the stem save for the terminal band; leaves linear, 3-angled with two rows of tubercles on the middle angle; commissural groove narrow, slightly or not at all widened above; teeth persistent, dark brown, firm, united two-thirds their height by brown borders; or brown-centered, flexuous, membranous-bordered, united or free, or early deciduous, leaving only a small dark brown spot at the tip of the leaves; branches none or few, short or up to 18 inches long, fruited or not, on the upper part of old stems.

Type. California Balfour, 1854. I have seen it from the following localities: California: Sacramento, Wilkes Exp. (Sheaths black, teeth persistent, near var. Javanicum); Berkeley, W. C. Blasdale (very stout, often with two rows of stomata); San Rafael, Munson & Hopkins (like last, but with one row of stomata). Arizona: Cedar Ranch, MacDougal. Nevada: Humboldt Mts., Watson. Utah: Fish Lake, Jones; Glenwood, Ward. Idaho: Peter Creek, Sandberg; Salmon, Henderson. Oregon: Port Discovery, Wilkes Exp. Washington: Tacoma, Flett; Klickitat Co., Suksdorf. British Columbia: New Westminster, A. J. Hill. (No rosulÆ, occasionally two rows of stomata, extraordinarily thick coating of silex.)

Except the Berkeley and San Rafael plants these can be told from robustum only by aid of the microscope to see the tubercles and rosulÆ. Though specimens vary considerably in appearance, the presence or absence of teeth, the size and intensity of the rings, a parallel can usually be found in a good series of robustum.

11. Doelli. Stems 1½ to 2½ feet high, erect, dark green, 10 to 20 angled, the ridges with two rows of tubercles or short crossbands, the former predominating; grooves with irregular rows of rosettes; sheaths entirely black or with a narrow ashy band which is broader the second year; the leaves plainly 4 angled through the grooving of the central ridge; teeth persistent or becoming broken in age, rigid, erect, dark brown or black, grooved in the center, with narrow white margins and usually deciduous filiform tips. Somewhat resembles a robust E. trachyodon, which it is quite near.

Type European. British Columbia, near Wharnock Station, A. J. Hill; Vancouver, Macoun (as ramosissimum); Blacktail Deer Creek, Yellowstone Park, Knowlton. The latter is quite peculiar in appearance and approaches robustum. None of the specimens exactly agree, but will come here better than elsewhere. The Ames Botanic Laboratory, North Easton, Mass.