THE MONOCOTYLEDONES 



2067 



Fig. 2005. — Cyperus alteniifoliiis. Plant growing in a pool with 

 Eichhornia. Jardim Botanico, Rio de Janeiro. 



Gramineae (Poaceae) 



The Gramineae are one of the largest of the famihes of the Flowering 

 Plants and, next to the Orchidaceae, the largest in the Monocotyledons. 

 Economically it is the most important of all, for the cereals provide the 

 basic food of both man and his domestic animals. The grasses are the 

 most widely distributed of all types of vegetation extending from the tropics 

 to the Arctic. They are among the first colonizers of new ground and form 

 the dominant vegetation of many parts of the world. With the exception 

 of the Bamboos, which are sometimes as tall as trees, the grasses are 

 usually herbaceous, some being annuals though the majority are perennials. 



Owing to the popular difficulty in distinguishing the species from one 

 another, the English names are but little used. We may mention however 

 the following common British grasses, as examples. 



I. Grasses cuniniuu in fields, pastures and ivastes places: Perennial Rye 

 Grass [Loliiim perenne). Sweet Vernal Grass {Anthoxanthiim 

 odoratiim), Timothy Grass (Phleiim pratense), Meadow Foxtail 

 [Alopeciirus pratensis), Yorkshire Fog (IIolciis lanatus). Couch 



