14 



BRITISH FLORA 



or pvirplc and jfrcen, ihc tlowcriiij; j^lumcs are 

 blunt, sliorlcr, 3-ncrvcd, tlircL- times as lonvf as 

 the j-nerved palea. The awn is short or absent. 

 There are 3 stamens, a short style, <-ind a feathery 

 stiffma. The fruit is enclosed in the glume, and 

 is round and smooth. It is i-i^ ft. in height. 

 1 1 flowers in June and July, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Meadow Soft Grass (Holats lanalus, L.). — 

 The habitat of this grass is meadows, fields, 

 copses, and waysides. The habit is erect. The 

 root is fibrous. The plant is softly downy. The 

 stems are tufted, ascending, with numerous leaves. 

 The latter are flat, downy, with the upper sheaths 

 swollen, and the knots softly hairy. The ligule 

 is short. The panicle is pale-green or pink, the 

 branches twice or thrice divided. The spikclcts 

 are oblong. The upper glume is blunt, rough, the 

 empty glume acute, with strong nerves, and the 

 awn is included in the glume, with a smooth or 

 rough tip (not so long as in H. mollis). There is 

 no awn in the lower florets. There are 3 stamens, 

 and the stigmas are stalkless and feathery. The 

 height is 1-2 ft. It is in flower from June to 

 .August. The plant is a herbaceous perennial. 



Yellow Oat Grass (Trisetumjiavescetis, Beauv.). 

 — The habitat of this grass is dry pastures and 

 fields. The habit is erect. The stem is smooth. 

 The radical leaves are hairy, flat, with hairy 

 sheaths. The ligule is blunt and fringed with 

 hairs. The panicle is open, much-branched, half- 

 whorled, spreading, hair-like, yellow. The spike- 

 lets are numerous, with 3-4 florets, yellow, shining, 

 glistening. There are 3 spreading awns (hence 

 the generic name) in the flowering glumes, and 

 the empty glumes are egg-shaped, with a long 

 point. The outer palea has 2 terminal bristles. 

 The rachis is hairy. The styles are distinct. The 

 stigmas are feathery. The fruit is furrowed with 

 a downy tip, and enclosed in the flowering glume 

 and palea. It is i-ij-^ ft. high. The flowers open 

 in June and July, and give a yellow tinge to the 

 meadows. It is a herbaceous perennial. 



Silver Oat Grass {Arrhenatherum avetiaceum, 

 Beauv.). — The habitat of this plant is fields, pas- 

 tures, hedges, hedgerows, &c. The habit is erect. 

 The root is fibrous and creeping. The stem is 

 smooth, slender. The leaves are flat, rough, and 

 so protected against cattle. The nodes are smooth 

 or downy. The ligule is blunt. The simple panicle 

 is loose, with the branches twice or thrice divided, 

 rough, long, close above, nodding. There is a 

 twisted bent awn in the lower flowering glume, 

 the upper having none. The lower empty glume 

 is less than the upper, which is acute, lance-shaped. 

 The flowering glume is hairy below the middle. 

 There are 3 stamens. The styles are short and 

 distinct. The stigmas are feathery. The fruit is 

 downy, enclosed in the flowering glume and palea. 

 It is 2-3 ft. high, flow-ering in June and Jul}', and 

 is a herbaceous perennial. 



Dog's Tail Grass (Cynosurus cn'status, L.). — 

 This plant is found in dry pastures and on banks. 

 The habit is erect, tufted. The stem is round, 

 smooth, leafless above. The leaves are thread- 



like, with a tew hairs. The sheaths .are smooth. 

 The ligule is divided into two ne.irly to the base. 

 The spike is linear, stifi, with a wavy rachis. The 

 spikelets are st.alkless, close, arranged all on one 

 side of the rachis, flattened in one plane, and with 

 a short awn. The empty glumes are abruptly 

 pointed, the flowering glumes rough above, faintly 

 3-nerved. There are 3 stamens. The terminal 

 styles are short, the stigmas feathery. The fruit 

 adheres to the flowering glume and palea. It is 

 6-24 in. high. It is in flower from July to August. 

 The plant is a perennial. 



Cock's Foot Grass (Daclylis glomcrala, L.). — 

 This plant is found in pastures, waste places, &c. 

 The habit is erect, tufted, the root being tufted. 

 The plant is rough, the leaves flat, broad, long, 

 keeled, and flattened at the border. The sheath 

 is rough, the ligule long. The panicle is rigid, 

 with long, distant, spreading, distinct branches, 

 green or violet, with few branches below, rough, 

 horizontal in flower, in fruit ascending. The spike- 

 lets are arranged ,all on one side, in egg-shaped 

 clusters. The two empty glumes have a blunt 

 point, and are membranous, the upper are 3- 

 nerved, the flowering glumes are cartilaginous, 

 and larger, 5-nerved. The awn is short and rough. 

 There are 3 stamens. The stigmas are feathery, 

 the styles terminal. The fruit is flattened on one 

 side, grooved on the other, and enclosed in the 

 glume. The Cock's Foot Grass is 1-4 ft. in height. 

 It flowers from June to July, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Quaking Grass(Briza media, L.). — The habitat 

 of this plant is meadows, pastures, heaths, &c., 

 usually on dry soil. The habit is prostrate, then 

 erect, with single stems, slender, and smooth. 

 The leaves are linear, with a long point, flat, 

 smooth or rough. The sheaths are smooth, the 

 upper ones inflated. The ligule is very short and 

 blunt. The panicle is spreading, p3Tamidal, light, 

 with long slender branches. The spikelets are 

 egg-shaped, pendulous, green or purple, shining, 

 of s florets. The glumes are not so long as the 

 lowest florets, the flowering glumes blunt, over- 

 lapping or sheathing. The lower palea is oval, 

 cartilaginous. The stamens are 3. The styles 

 are terminal and short, the stigmas feathery. The 

 fruit is flattened, and enclosed in the glume. The 

 plant is 6-12 in. in height, and flowers in June and 

 Julv. It is a herbaceous perennial. 



Green Quaking Grass (Briza minor, L.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is fields, dry sandy fields in 

 the S.W., and cultivated 'ground. The habit is 

 similar to that of the last. The stems are tufted, 

 erect, and slender. The ligule is long and lance- 

 shaped, acute. The panicle is similar to that of 

 the last, but there are 7 florets in the spikelets, 

 which are smaller, pale-green, and broader than 

 long, or triangular. The glume is longer than the 

 lowest florets. The lower p.ilea is round or heart- 

 shaped, cartilaginous, swollen along the back. 

 The plant is 6-12 in. high, and flowers from June 

 to .August, being a herbaceous annual. 



Annual Meadow Grass {Poa annua, L,), — The 

 habitat of this grass is fields, pastures, waste 



