138 TRIANDRIA. DIGYNIA. Melica. 



f 



% 



Varies very much in size, from 2 to 12 inches high* Panicle 

 few-flowered ; close whilst in flower, widely expanded when in 

 seed. B/oss. shorter than the calyx. Awn twice as long as the 

 blossom, fixed below its middle, yellow and opake in the lower, 

 paler and finer in the upper part. The larger plants somewhat 

 resemble the h.Jiexuosa y but want the zigzag fruitstalks and 

 the woolliness at the base of the blossom. The smaller plants 

 may be distinguished from the A. precox by the panicle expand- 

 ing when ripe, and by the awn being less than twice the length 

 of the calyx. It is moreover an annual plant. 



Sandy pastures, frequent. [On the beach at LowestofF, Suf- 

 folk, andelsewhere. Wood w. -Roddy hill. Mr. Swayne.1 A. July. 



ME'LICA. Cat. 2-valved, 2~flowered, with a little 



substance on a pedicle betwixt the florets: 

 Nectary 1 leaf: Stamens dilated at the base. 



nutans. M. Petals not fringed : panicle drooping, undivided. 



Curt.-FI.dan. SfcSc&rei. 6. 1-CB./r. <ZO.and th. 155- 

 Park. 11.31. 5-Barr. 95. 2. and 96. 2-J. B. ii. 434. 

 1-Leers 3. \-Scheuch. 3. 16'. D. E. F. 



Cal.<vah*es shorter than the blossom, dirty purple, outer egg- 

 oblong, shorter ; inner oval. Blots. *val<ves oblong \ outer scored* 

 whitish, sometimes tinged with purple; inner a good deal shorter, 

 pubescent. St. Panicle 3 or 4 inches long, few flowered, flowers 

 mostly pointing 1 way ; branches only 3 or 4, and those not sub- 

 divided. 



Melica montana. Huds. — Mountain Melic. Mountainous woods 

 in Yorksh. Westmorel. andCumberl. [Helkswood, by Ingleton, 

 Yorksh. Mr. Woodward. Grasswood, near Conniston Mr. 

 Caley.] P # June, July** 



cceralea. M. Panicle compact: flowers cylindrical: straw without 



knot 



5. 



Curt.-E. hot. 75G-FI. dan. 230-tf. ox. viii. 5. row 3. 22- 



Leers 4. J. 



Root bulbous. Lewes flat. Straw for a great length with- 

 out knots. Florets awl-shapcd, rolled in at the edges, sometimes 

 3, and in very rich soil, 4 in each calyx. A pedicle knobbed at 

 the end rises from betwixt the florets. Anthers purplish blue* 

 Pistils purple. Linn. Straw with only 1 knot, which is close to 

 the root. Scheuch. Straw near half a yard high. Panicle 3 



* In the isle of Rasa they make this grass into ropes for fishing nets, 

 which arc remarkable for lasting long without rotting. Femunt's T**t 



1774. p. 297. Cows, horses and goats eat it. 



