402 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



This species is common in lowland areas in Great 

 Britain as far north as the Shetlands, and in the 

 North of England is found at an altitude of 1400 ft. 

 It is a native of Ireland also, and the Channel 

 Islands. 



Rivers, lakes, marshes, vi^atery places generally, 

 form the habitat of Reed-Grass. It is found on 

 limestone, in marshy places, in ashwoods in the 

 fresh-water aquatic formation, in waters relatively 

 rich in mineral salts, in slowly-flowing streams, in 

 the reed-swamp association, in the marsh formation, 

 in the fen formation, as a social species in the closed 

 reed-swamp, and in the valley moors in the reed- 

 swamp association. 



The Reed-Grass has the grass habit, being a 

 glabrous plant with stout, erect stems, with spreading 

 branches, creeping below. The leaves are broad and 

 long, the lower ones tufted below. The sheaths are 

 smooth. The ligule is large. 



The flowers are in an erect, compact, long panicle, 

 with short roughish branches, spreading when in 

 flower. The spikelets are ovate, purplish or white, 

 numerous. They are not overlapping, nor do 

 they form a spike as in Canary Grass. The outer 

 glumes are lance-shaped, pointed, with no awn, 

 keeled, without a wing, smooth, pale green, three- 

 nerved, with green nerves, and whitish. The flower- 

 ing glumes are smooth, shining, ovate to lance- 

 shaped, without nerves, silky. The lodicules are 

 two, narrow and silky. 



