LAKES, RIVERS, DITCHES, ETC. 



119 



is stout, creeping'. The stem is stout, branched, 

 round in section, floalinjj or creepiiijj, ascendini;', 

 smooth, rooiiiigf below. The leaves are pale- 

 green, acute, siiort, the up|>er long and floating. 

 The shealhs are long, flattened. The lig^le is 

 broad, acute. The panicle is simple or branched, 

 one-sided, long, the branches ascending, rough, 

 simple, the lower paired. The spikelels are green, 

 appressed, erect, linear, 7-1 j-flowcred, the flowers 

 lance-sh.iped, oblong, ;iciite. The empty glumes 

 are unequal, with torn tips, the flowering glumes 

 are rough, with ragged tips. The .-inthers are 

 five times as long as broad. The plant is 1-4 ft. 

 high, flowering in July and .■\ugust, and is a herb- 

 aceous perennial. 



Glvcerta plicata, Fr.— The habitat of this plant 

 is similar to that of the last, stagnant water and 

 wet places. It h.is been regarded as a variety of 

 the last, from which it differs in the spreading 

 fruiting spikclets. The stem is ascending, root- 

 ing below. The leaves arc bluish-green, blunt, 

 plaited when young. The ligiile is short. The 

 sheaths are rough and furrowed. The panicle is 

 much branched, compound, with simple rough 

 branches, the lowermost in fives, smooth, erect 

 in flower, spreading in fruit. The spikelets are 

 linear, 7-:!0-flowcred, the florets oval-oblong, acute. 

 The flowering glumes are twice as long as broad. 

 The lower palea is blunt, 3-lobed. The anthers are 

 three times as long as broad, cream-coloured, brown 

 when empty. The plant is in flower between June 

 and August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Poa paluslris, L. (= P. serotina, Ehrh.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is marshy places, and the 

 plant is very rare. The stem is tufted, smooth, 

 ascending. The leaves are narrow, pointed, 

 roughish. The root is fibrous or creeping, with 

 short stolons. The sheaths are smooth. The 



ligule is oblong and acute. The panicle is large, 

 with rough, ascending to spreading branches, the 

 lower more or less whorled in fives. The spikelels 

 ■ire ovate, acute. The flowers are 2-5, webbed. 

 The lower palea is obscurely 5-veined, hairy on 

 the keel and m;irgins towards the base. The plant 

 is 1-3 ft. high, flowering from June to August, and 

 is a herbaceous perenni.il. 



Greater Fescue Grass or Meadow Fescue (Fes- 

 tiica clalior, L.). — The lial)it,it uf this plant is 

 meadows, river-banks, ;uid wet places. The root- 

 stock is creeping, stoloniferous. The stems ,-ire 

 nodding, smooth. The leaves are broad, smooth, 

 finely-furrowed, limp. The ligule is smooth. The 

 panicle is more or less sccund, branched, nodding, 

 with 2 branches at each node, unequal, contracted 

 alter flowering, the flowers ascending at length, 

 with a 3-sided rachis, smooth. The branches are 

 rough, 2-nate. The spikclets are numerous, linear 

 to oblong, green and dull purple. The empty 

 glumes h.ive a broad membranous border. The 

 flowering glumes are rough above, seldom awned, 

 3-7, smooth, acute. The ovary is smooth. The 

 plant is 2-6 ft. high, flowering in June and July, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Meadow Fescue Grass (Fes/uca praiensis, 

 Ihids. ). — The habit.it ot this species is river-banks, 

 wet places, wet meadows. The plant is smaller 

 than the last, and not so stoloniferous. The 

 panicle is close, not spreading, more or less secund, 

 nodding, with linear-oblong spikelets of 5-10 

 flowers, in 2 rows, simple, with short branches in 

 pairs, one with i spikelet, the other with 2 or 

 more. The flowering glumes are more numerous, 

 shortly awned, 4-10, smooth, blunt, or with a short 

 point. The ovary is smooth. The plant is 1-2 ft. 

 in height, flowering in June and July, and is a 

 herbaceous perennial. 



