i8o 



FLOWERS OF ROCKS, WALLS, ETC. 



S.\N1) I-'FSCIE 



I'lioto. H. Irvitiy 



(Fesliicn Myuros, L.) 



in the Trent province, in Lines; in the 

 Mersey province, only in Chester; in 

 the Humber province, in N.E. and 

 N.W. Yorks; and in the Lakes pro- 

 vince, only in the Isle of Man. In 

 Scotland it is only found in Dumfries 

 and Kirkcudbrioht. It is a native in 

 Mid and S. Ireland and the Channel 

 Islands. 



Sand Fescue is so essentially areno- 

 philous that its distribution is limited to 

 some inland and many maritime counties 

 where sand is a dominant formation. 

 It is found where Silky Wind Grass and 

 Flat-stalked Poa are prevailing" grasses. 



The stems are slender, smooth, with 

 many bristle -like leaves below, keeled, 

 very short, with long upper sheaths, 

 which are furrowed, rounded, smooth, 

 and almost or more than reaching the 

 panicle. The ligule is short, with round 

 auricles or lobes. 



The panicle is one-sided, nodding, 

 elongate, interrupted, the lowest branch 

 a quarter of the whole, and is either 

 straight or wavy, glossy. The lower 

 glume is one-third less than the upper. 

 The spikelets have awns which are 

 wedge-shaped when expanded. The 

 awn is slender. 



This plant is 12-1S in. in height. 

 It flowers in June and July. Sand 

 Fescue is annual, propagated by seeds. 



The spikelets contain three or more 

 flowers, there is i stamen, the terminal 

 style is .short, and the stigma is feathery. 

 Here, again, the flower is anemophilous 

 and proterogynous. 



The long, light fruit is enclosed in 

 the glume, and is admirably adapted 

 for wind dispersal. 



