GRAMINACEiE. 



1293. T. vulgare Vill. delph. ii. 153. Host, gram.nl 18. 

 t. 26. Kunth gram. 438. — T. hybernum et aestivum Linn. spec. 

 126. — In the country of the Baschkirs. (Wheat.) 



Spike 4-cornered, imbricated, with a tough rachis. Spikelets gene- 

 rally 4-flowered. Glumes ventricose, ovate, truncate, mucronate, com- 

 pressed below the apex, round and convex at the back, with a prominent 

 nervure. Flowers awned or awnless. Grains loose. — Admitted into 

 the last edition of the London Pharmacopoeia, as the source of starch. 



HORDEUM. 



Spikelets S together, the lateral ones usually withered, 

 2 -flowered, with an intermediate floret reduced to a subulate 

 rudiment. Glumes 2, lanceolate-linear, with subulate awns, 

 flattish, unequal-sided, at right angles with the paleae, almost on 

 one side, and that the outer side, herbaceous, rigid. Paleae 2, 

 herbaceous ; the lower one concave, ending in an awn, the upper 

 bicarinate. Stamens 3. Ovary hairy at the apex. Stigmas 2, 

 sessile, somewhat terminal, feathery. Scales 2, entire, or fur- 

 nished with a lateral lobe, usually hairy or ciliated. Caryopsis 

 hairy at the point, oblong, furrowed on the inside, adhering to 

 the paleae, rarely naked. Kunth. 



1294-. H. vulgare Linn. sp. pi. 125. Host. gram. hi. t. 34. 

 Kunth. agrost. \So. — Mesopotamia, Chesney. (Barley.) 



All the florets hermaphrodite and awned. Grains arranged in 

 4 rows. Stems erect. Scales fringed with hairs. — Admitted as an 

 officinal plant, chiefly because peart-barley, which is barley deprived of 

 its integuments, is found in various preparations to afford a light food 

 for the sick chamber. 



SECALE. 



Spikelets 2-flowered. Florets sessile, distichous, with the 

 linear rudiment of a third terminal one. Glumes 2, herbaceous, 

 keeled, nearly opposite, awnless or awned. Paleae 2, herbaceous ; 

 the lower one awned at the point, keeled, and unequal sided, 

 broadest and thickest on the outer side ; the upper shorter and 

 bicarinate. Stamens 3. Ovary pyriform, pilose. Stigmas 2, 

 subsessile, terminal, feathery, with long simple finely toothed 

 hairs. Scales 2, entire, ciliated. Caryopsis hairy at the point 

 and loose. Kunth. 



1295. S. cereale Linn. sp. pi. 124. Host. gram. ii. t. 48. 

 Kunth. agrost. 449. — The Caucasico-Caspian desert. The Cri- 

 mea and the banks of the Volga. (Rye.) 



Stems in a wild state rarely more than a foot high ; in cultivation 

 2 feet high and more. Lower leaves, together with their sheaths, 

 covered with a soft down. Rachis bearded on each side with white 

 hairs. Glumes subulate, ciliated, scabrous, shorter than the florets 

 taken together with their awns. Outer paleae folded up, keeled, 

 3-nervecl' with very Ions? awns ; the 2 nerves and awns very rough. — 



610 



