40 



BRITISH FLORA 



has the jjr.iss habit. The stems are luimcrous, 

 erect, or prostrate below, stout, downy, leafy at 

 the base. The leaves are short, broad, flat, lance- 

 shaped, downy. The sheaths are downy and in- 

 flated. The lijjule is short. The spikes are white, 

 blunt, eifS"''''''!"^"^' (hence ova/us), soft. The empty 

 jjlumes are very slender. The awn is twice as 

 lonp as the nearly hairless flowerinij g^Umie. The 

 plant is 3-12 in. in height, flowerinjf in June and 

 July, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Grey Hair Grass (U'ciniriierlneria [Coryne- 

 f)hunis\ canesceiis, Bernh.).— The habitat of this 

 jjfrass is sea-coasts. At Salthouse, Norfolk, it 

 forms a short turf on the landward side of the 

 shingle banks. The plant has the grass habit, 

 forming rigid, hard tufts. The stems are slender, 

 bent below, hairless above, with short branches. 

 The leaves are numerous, short, rigid, bristle-like, 

 bluish-green, reddish below, the margins rolled 

 inwards. The upper sheaths are long, rough. 

 The ligule is lance-shaped. The panicle is narrow 

 to oblong, silvery (hence canescens) or purplish, 

 close, spreading in flower. The branches are 

 short and thickened at the forks. The spikelets 

 are narrow, pale -silver or purple, variegated. 

 The empty glumes are narrow, long-pointed, with 

 membranous tips. The flowering glumes are not 

 so long, softly hairy below, the keel channelled. 

 The awn is short or projecting, the lower part 

 dark-yellow or purple below, straight and cylin- 

 drical, twisted, bearded in the middle where it is 

 bent, the upper part club-shaped, white, with a 

 purple tinge. The anthers are purple. The plant 

 is 4-8 in. high, flowering in July, and is a herba- 

 ceous annual. 



Dog's Tooth Grass (Capriola Daclylon, Druce 

 = Cynodon Darlylon, Pers.). — The habitat of this 

 plant is sandy shores in south-western England. 

 The plant has the grass habit, and to some extent 

 mimics Panicum. The plant has a creeping root. 

 The stem is stout, woody below, the barren shoots 

 with spreading leaves, prostrate, with leafy, rather 

 erect, short, smooth, flowering branches, the 

 sheaths strongly furrowed. The leaves are awl- 

 like, bluish-green, stiff, short, the margin inrolled, 

 the tips blunt, with prominent nerves, down)' 

 below, in two rows on the barren shoots. The 

 sheaths are pale, the mouth hairy. The spikes 

 are slender, many-flowered, purple, and radiate 

 in a cluster from a common centre, being 3-6, and 

 finger-like. The rachis is convex, with a groove 

 above. The spikelets are overlapping. The emptj' 

 glumes are egg-shaped, acute. The keel is rough, 

 fringed with hairs. The palea is smooth, fringed 

 with hairs. The plant is 4-8 in. high, flowering in 

 July and August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Bulbous Meadow Grass (Poa bulbosa, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is sandy maritime places 

 in southern and eastern England. The plant has 

 the grass habit. The plant is hairless, and rather 

 rigid. The lower nodes are tuberous (hence bul- 

 bosa), the tubers egg-shaped, with loose sheaths, 

 the base of the stem tuberous and the offsets bulb- 

 ous. The root is fibrous. The stem is smooth, 

 round in section, soon withering, the tubers lying 



loose till .lulumn. The leaves are narrow, curved, 

 keeled, with a white toothed border. The upper 

 leaves are very short. The lower sheaths arc 

 short, the upper long and flattened at the border 

 and below the middle of the stem, much longer 

 than the le.if. The ligules are long and acute. 

 The panicle is egg-shaped, flattened, erect, close, 

 the branches 2-lobed, rough. The spikelets are 

 green and purplish-brown, with 3-4 webbed florets, 

 egg-shaped. The empty glumes are egg-shaped, 

 acute, the keel rough. The flowering glumes are 

 broad, acute, 3-6, downy at the border and on the 

 acute keel, the nerves being indistinct. The plant 

 is 6-8 in. high, flowering in April and May, and is 

 a herbaceous perennial. 



Gtyceria fuiicnudii. Hack. — This species has 

 been regarded as a variety of G. maritima. It 

 differs in the stem, which has a large central 

 cavity. The leaves are fiat. The spikelets and 

 flowers are larger than in the type. 



Glyceria festuciformis, Heyn. — The habitat of 

 this species is coasts. The stem is firm, erect, 

 slightly arching at the top. The leaves are broader 

 than in G. maritima, of which it has been regarded 

 as a variety, but are not flat. The spikelets and 

 flowers are larger than in the latter. The plant 

 is 2-3 ft. in height. 



Slender Manna Grass {G/yrrriadis/ans, Wahl.). 

 — The habitat of this species is sandy (chiefly 

 maritime) places, seashores, and waste sandy 

 places. The plant has the grass habit. There 

 are rarely rooting stolons. The stem is prostrate 

 below. The root is tufted. The stem is usually 

 tall and slender. The leaves are flat, broad, with 

 8-10 prominent ridges above. The ligule is short 

 and blunt. The panicle is long, spreading, 

 branched, the branches 4-5-lobed, long, slender, 

 bent down at length, or horizontal, the lowest in 

 fours or fives. The spikelets are 3~5-flowered, 

 linear, the rachis half-round in section, flat one 

 side. The lower palea is blunt, the midrib not 

 reaching the tip, the edges not rolled inwards. 

 The plant is 9-24 in. high, flowering between July 

 and October, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Borrer's Manna Grass (Glyceria Borreri, Bab.). 

 — The habitat of this species is salt marshes on 

 the eastern and southern coasts. The plant has 

 the grass habit. The plant is bluish -green in 

 colour. There are no stolons. The stems are 

 densely tufted, stout. The leaves are flat, short. 

 The sheaths are very long. The ligule is blunt, 

 short. The panicle is short, contracted, strict, 

 not or slightly lengthened in fruit, with a stout 

 rachis, 2-3-branched, the branches solitary, at 

 length erect to spreading, the lowest usually in 

 fours, stiffly hairy. The spikelets are rather small, 

 linear, 4-7-flowered, the rachis round in section. 

 There are 3- 6 flowering glumes. The lower p,alca 

 has a rigid, hard point, formed by the tip of the 

 dorsal vein, the edges not being rolled inwards. 

 The plant is 6-18 in. high, flowering between June 

 and September. It is a herbaceous perennial. 



Procumbent Manna Grass (Glyceria procum- 

 bens, Dum.). — The habitat of this plant is muddy 

 seashores and salt marshes. The plant has the 



