CLXI. GRAMINEZ. 593 
brous, nerved, twice longer than: the ovate-lanceolate glume; s¢. about 2f high, 
erect, scarcely scabrous; bracts and lvs. long, not wide; light green.—Wet 
places in meadows, common, and. has been ranked under C. bullata. 
138. C. mirata. Dew. (C. arista. Dew. noi of R. Br.) 
3 Spikes 2 or more, long-cylindric; Q spikes about 2, long-cylindric, pe- 
dunculate, subdense-flowered, suberect ; perig. ovate, conic, long rostrate, cos- 
tate, bifureate, glabrous, subinflated at the base, about equaling the ovate, 
long-setaceous or long-awned glume; st. about 2f high, rough; lvs. and bracts 
longer than the stem; light gréen—Shores of lake Ontario, N. Y. Sartwell. 
Also found'in the State of Georgia. 
FIG. 55.—1. Carex ; a single, fertile flower; a, the glume ; 8, the perigynium, containing the ovary with 
(c) the three'stigmas. 2. Scirpus.lacustris; the inflorescence. 3. A single (magnified) flower, showing 
the 6 hypogynous bristles of the perigynium, ovary with three stigmas, and thethree stamens. 
Orpver CLXI GRAMINE#.—Grasszs. 
Herbs perennial, with fibrous or bulbous rhizomas, or often annual or biennial, ._ 2 
Stems (culms) cylindrical, fistular, closed at the nodes, covered witha coat of silex, often solid. 
Lvs. narrow and undivided, napa rel meno alternate, with a sheath split down to the nodes, and a mem- 
branous ligula or stipule at the juncture of the blade and sheath. 
Inflorescence arranged in spikes, racemes or panicles. xp ibe, ‘ 
_ Fis. generally perfect, in little spikelets composed of bracts imbricated in 2rows. 
Glumes.—Outer bracts (calyt, Linn.) generally 2 and unequal, sometimes Ll only. a. 
Palege.—inner bracts (corolla, Linn.) 2, alternate, the lower (exterior) one simple, the upper (interior) 
often doubly carinate, being composed of 2 pieces united by their edges. : 
Scales.—Innermost bracts (nectary, Linn. rudimentary petals) 1—3, distinct or united; membranous, hy- 
Sta. 1—6, commonly 3. -Anthers versatile. : [pogynous. 
Ova. simple, with 2:styles and 2 feathery stigmas. Fruit a caryopsis. J 
Seed with the embryo situated on the outside of farinaceous albumen, at the base, next the hilum. 
Genera 291, species about 3800, universally diffused throughout the world, having no other limits than 
those that bound vegetation in general. But the species and their characters are widely different in dif- 
ferent climes. In temperate zones the grasses clothe a large portion:of the earth’s surface with a com- 
pact, soft, green, carpet-like turf; but in tropical regions this beautiful grassy turf disappears and the 
’ larger, more isolated like other plants, fewer in the number of individuals, with broader 
prabes become 
eaves and more showy flowers. 
Properties.—This family doubtless contributes more to the sustenance of man and beast than all others 
combined. Its sweet and nutritious properties reside both in the farinaceous albumen of the seed andin 
the herbage. No poisonous or even suspicious herb is found among them, with the single exception.of 
Lolium temulentum. The poisonous and medicinal ergot or spurred rye is only a parasitic fungus, and 
therefore forms no exception to this remark. The stems of many grasses contain sugar, as the mazze and 
sugar-cane. Silex is also a frequent ingredient. To this order belong the common grains, maize, wheat, 
rye, rice, barley, oats, &c. The most important of the cultivated grasses are Phleum or Timothy grass, 
several kinds of Poa, Agrostis, Alopecurus, Festuca, Aira, Panicum, Cinna, Briza, &c. 
