568 



GRAMfNE^ 



rare. It is a good sand-binder and one of the best pasture 

 grasses of many dry climates, such as India, where it is called 

 Doorba or Doab-grass, and Bermuda, where it is called Bermuda 

 grass. (Named from the Greek odous, a tooth, kunos, of a dog.) 

 — Fl. July, August. Perennial. 



27. SiEGiiNGiA (Heath-grass), of which S. decumbens (Creep- 

 ing Heath-grass) is the only British 

 species, is a bright green, densely 

 tufted plant with stiff, smooth sterns^ 

 6 — 12 in. high; blunt, thick leaves 

 with a tuft of hairs for a ligule ; 

 spikelets 5 or 6, rarely 7 — 10, in a 

 flexuous raceme, 3 — 4-flowered, 

 rather large, awnless, pale green and 

 purplish ; flowering glume 5-ribbed, 

 hairy at the base, with 3 minute 

 teeth at the top. — Dry heaths and 

 moors ; common, indicating poor 

 soil. (Named in honour of Pro- 

 fessor Siegling, of Erfurt.) — Fl. July, 

 August. Perennial. 



28. PHRAGMfxES (Reed), of which 

 P. communis (Common Reed) is 

 the only species, is a stout grass, 

 5 — 10 feet high, with a long, creep- 

 ing root-stock ; numerous long 

 leaves, often an inch broad, glaucous 

 beneath, all up the stem ; a dense, 

 drooping panicle 10 — 18 in. long, of 

 a purplish - brown colour, with 

 numerous branches ; spikelets very 

 numerous, \ — | in. long, shining, 

 I — 6-flovvered, awnless, with long, 

 silky hairs on the rachilla which 

 lengthen as the fruit ripens and give 

 the panicle a beautiful silvery ap- 

 pearance. — In wet ditches, marshes, and shallow waters, almost 

 all over the world ; common. It is very serviceable on river 

 banks for binding the soil, and is used for thatch. The runners 

 are nutritious, containing much sugar, and might be used as fodder. 

 (Name said to be from the Greek phragma, a hedge.) — Fl. July, 

 August. Perennial. 



29. Sesleria (Moor-grass), of which S, ccerulea (Blue Moor- 



SIEGT.INGIA DECUMBENS 



{Creeping- Heath-grass). 



