Ho TIUANDRIA-DIGYNIA. Glyceric 



I venture to admit into Mr. Brown's genus of Glycerin, 

 founded on Festuca, (or Poa,)jluitans alone, such of our 

 former Pore as agree with that grass in having linear 

 spikelefs, cylindrical furrowed Jlorets, and for the most 

 part branched stigmas, which last character is considered 

 by that learned author as one of the most essential. It 

 occurs however in Poa annua, trivial'^, pratensis, and 

 perhaps in other indisputable species of that genus, whose 

 characters will be given hereafter. As to the present tribe, 

 the writer of this lias long been convinced of their natu- 

 ral relationship to each other, and their ill agreement 

 with Poa, and proposes the above characters, founded on 

 the shape of the Jlorets more especially, as no less ob- 

 vious than invariable. 



1. G. aquatica. Reedy Sweet-grass. 



Panicle erect, repeatedly branched, spreading. Florets 

 numerous, obtuse, with seven ribs. Nectary cloven, 

 acute. 



Poa aquatica. Linn. Sp. PL 98. TVilld. v. \. 385. Fl.Br.95. Engl. 

 Bot. v. 19. t. 1315. Curt. Lond. fuse. 5. t. 12. Knapp t. 44. 

 Hook. Scot. 32. Schrad. Germ. v. 1. 278. Host Gram. v. 2. 44. 

 t. 60. Fl. Dan. t. 920. Leers 2G. t. o.f. 5. 



P. n. 1 454. Hall. Hist. v. 2. 220. 



Gramen aquaticum majus. Raii Syn. 411. Ger. Em. 6./. Lob. Ic. 

 v. 1.4./. 



G. palustre paniculatum altissimum. Bauh. Theatr. 38. Scheuchz. 

 Agr. 191. tA.f. 1. 



G. paniculatum aquaticum latifolium. Moris, v. 3. 201. sect. 8. t. 6. 

 /.25. 



In ditches, pools, and the margins of running streams,, common. 



Perennial. July. 



Root creeping, jointed, with whorled fibres. Stems 5 or 6 feet high, 

 smooth, a little compressed. Leaves broad, flat, single-ribbed, 

 linear, with a short point, rough at the edges and keel only. 

 Panicle large, repeatedly compound j its branches alternately 

 half whorled, angular, rough. Spikelets erect, more linear than 

 in Engl. Bot., of from 5 to 10, or more, Jlorets, whose outer 

 valve is blunt and strongly ribbed, cylindrical, not keeled j 

 sometimes minutely downy. Common calyx even. Nectary 

 abrupt, of 2 short acute lobes. Styles a little distant, longer 

 than their feathery stigmas, which are repeatedly subdivided, as 

 in the next species. 



A coarse grass, but not unacceptable to cattle, making a great 

 part of the hay in marshy lands. It is sometimes viviparous, but 

 sparingly. Leers is not correct in his figure of the stigmas. 



