58 FLOWERS OF THE HILLS AM) DRV PLACES 



Tlie panicle is narrow, one-sided, or all turned one \\a\'. with 

 egg-shaped spikelets, 4-1 2-flo\vered, smooUi, hairy, and purple. The 

 flowering glumes are rounded, blunt, terminated with a sharp point, 

 with short awns, viviparous, the awn shorter than the palea. The 

 flowers have 3 stamens. There are hairs on the top of the ovary. 

 Sheep's Fescue is i ft. in hcii^lu. I'lowers are at their best in |une 

 and lulv. It is a perennial grass, propagated by division. 



The floral symmetry is similar to that of Sand Fescue, the flowers 

 being iriandrous and 3-12 flowered, jjollinaled by the wind. 



The fruit is light, and adapted lor wind dispersal in spite of the 

 short awn. 



This is a sand plant, growing on sand soil or on barren rock soil, 

 which is derived from granitic or arenaceous rocks. It is also char- 

 acteristic of chalk soils. 



Barley-leaf Stripe, Pyrciiophora trichostonia, is found to attack it, 

 also a gall, Enura deprcssa. caused by a 1 1\ nienopterous insect. The 

 Mountain Ringlet, Erebia cpip/iivii, is found on it, also Anei-astia 

 lotcla. 



Festitca is Latin for stalk, stem, or straw. The second Latin name 

 means pertaining to sheep, because they will eat it, with the e.xception 

 of the flowering stems. It is called Black Twitch, F'escue Grass. It 

 is a suitable grass for lawns, forming short, tliick turf, but is not a 

 valuable meadow grass. 



Es.SENTiAL Specific Ch.aracters: — 



341. Fts/iiia oi'iua, L. — Stem erect, leaves setaceous, tufted, curved, 

 radical leaves narrow, glaucous, panicle unilateral, awn shorter than 

 palea, S[)ikelets purple, glabrous. 



