PANICULARIA BRACHITHI'LLA n. sp.
Whole plant, except the flowering scales and a slight roughness on the branches of the panicle just below each spikelet, smooth and glabrous. Culms simple, from a decumbent and creeping base, erect, slender, 6-9 dm. tall ; sheaths usually longer than the internodes, closed for nearly the entire length, striate, the upper most one elongated, somewhat keeled toward the summit, loosely embracing the culm, and enclosing the base of the panicle ; ligule 6-9 mm. long, lacerated at the apex ; leaves linear, acuminate at the apex, 6-13 cm. long, 4-5 mm. wide, inclined to become con duplicate, especially when dry ; panicle narrow and slender, the ex serted portion 3-4 dm. long, the lower internodes of the rachis 5-7 cm. long, gradually decreasing in length to the summit, where they are 1-2 cm. in length, the branches appressed, or nearly so, the lower ones in 2's or 3's, one of which is 6-11 cm. long and bears 2-3 spikelets, the remaining one or two being much shorter and bearing a single spikelet ; spikelets 2.2-3 cm. long, compressed cylindric, 7-12-(usually 8-10) flowered, on pedicels 1-2 mm. long; empty scales of the spikelet I-nerved, acutish, with a broad white margin, the first scale about one-half as long as the second, which is 5-6 mm. in length, the flowering scales hispidulous, 7-nerved, the lower ones a little exceeding twice the length of the internodes of the rachilla, about 5.5 mm. long, 2.5 mm. wide when spread out, elliptic, the obtuse, not truncate, apex somewhat obscurely and ir regularly few-toothed ; palets about 6 mm long, a little exceeding the flowering scales, acuminate, the margins infolded, the apex shortly 2-toothed, 2-nerved, the nerves wing-keeled, the wing ser rulate and about .3 mm. wide in the broadest part ; anthers purple,
1.5-1.7 mm. long.
Growing in water in large masses in an open swamp near the N. Y. & Harlem R. R., just north of the northern line of the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden, in company with P. fiuitans, from which it is markedly different, the shorter and more slender culms, the shorter leaves, and the much narrower panicle readily distinguishing it ; in addition to these differences, the flowering scales in P. ilnitans are shorter (about 4 mm. long), truncate, and equal or exceed the palets. P. brachyrItylla is really intermediate between P. Atitans and P. acutiflora, resembling the latter in habit, but at once separated from it by the smaller flow ering scales, which are obtuse and not acuminate as in that species.
Robinson & Schrenk's No. 221, collected in a wet meadow at St. John's, Newfoundland, August 7, 1894, appears to be a small and simple-panicled form of this ; the spikelets are fewer-flowered and the flowering scales are slightly longer, sometimes about equalling the palet, but otherwise the plant is the same.
This well-marked species doubtless occurs in other sections, but, owing to its strong resemblance in habit and general appear ance to P. acutiflora, it has been overlooked. I should be exceed ingly glad to receive more material.