TRIANDRTA. DIGYNIA. Festuca. 153 



F. Panicle rough : spikets 6-floweredj awned : floret at the rut)ra. 



end awnless : straw semi- cylindrical • 



Scheuch. 6. Q-S "tilling f. §-Leers 8. 1, a larger variety. 



Distinguished from the F. o<vina by its size, its red colour 

 when ripe, its broader leaves, and its nearly semi-cylindrical 

 straw. Linn. It differs from the F. duriuscnla in its broader 

 and flat stem-leaves, in its spikets being somewhat larger, and its 

 panicle less compressed. The bristle-shaped root-leaves, and the 

 very short awns distinguish it from the F. myuriis. Pollich. 

 Leaves on the upper side covered with a soft woolliness barely 

 perceptible to the naked eye. Straw smooth, but within the 

 panicle rough : green, but when the seeds are ripe, red. Linn. 

 Taller than the F. duriuscula, and distinguished from it by its 

 broader leaves. Mr. Dickenson. Panicle of a reddish purple 

 colour as it approaches to ripeness, and this colour sometimes ex- 

 tends to the leaves and the straw. About 1 S inches high. Spikets 

 5-flowered. CaL one valve but £ the length of the other. Awns 

 4 or ^ the length of the blossom. 



Purple Fescue. High heaths, and dry barren pastures. [Ga- 

 thered in N. Wales, by Mr. Dickenson. — About Stoney Cross 

 in the New Forest, Hants, plentiful.] P. June. 



F. Panicle oblong : spikets oblong, smooth : leaves bristle- dui 



shaped. 



Gram. fase.-E. hot. 470-Ray 19.. 1-Leers 8. 2-FL dan. 848 

 -Lob* obs. f). 2. 



Resembles the F. dumetdrum in its thread-shaped channelled 

 root leaves, and its flat grass- like stem-leaves, but differs inhav- 

 ln g its husks smooth. Linn^us. Stem and root-leaves bristle- 

 shaped. Little spikes small, egg-shaped ; with very short awns. 

 Panicle more contracted, distinguishes it from the F. rubra* 

 Its cylindrical straw, and the constant presence of the very short 

 &ivns> from the F. ovina. Pollich. It varies in its root-leave* 

 being bristle-shaped and thread-shaped, and rough : in its stem- 

 leaves being flat and channelled, and bare : ill its little spikes 

 containing from 6 to 10 florets, and pubescent. Huds. From S 

 t0 12 inches high. Panicle from 2 to 3 inches long. Calyx 

 always smooth : in dry situations 5, in richer soil 6 or 7-flowr- 



cr cd, besides a harren or imnerfeet floret at the end ; One valve of 



\ 



passes, and are^aid soonest to grow fat upon it; for though small, it is 

 succulent. The Tartan who lead a wandering life, u. ing their flocks 

 * n <i herds, always choose those spots where this grass abounds. Lix./. 

 Such may be its just character in the uncultivated wilds of nature, and 

 * s it prefers a dry soil, its growth is an indubitable indication of the sa- 

 lubrity of such places for rlocks of sheep, but in a more rich and cultivated 

 country Mr. Swayxe tells me it is of little value asa pasture grass, being 

 ^reniely diminutive, nor will it remain long in the ground if sown, but 

 "1 soon give place to more luxuriant grasses. 



