Illustrated Descriptions of the Grasses 



long or less. Scales 3; outer ^ 



scales nearly equal, acute, j^^^^ 



rough on keels; flowering 



scale obtuse; palet minute. 



Stamens ^, anthers small. 

 Dry or moist soil. June to 



August. 

 Throughout nearly the whole 



of North America, except 



in the extreme north. 



BLUE-JOINT GRASS AND 

 NUTTALL'S REED-GRASS 



Though that "bank where 

 the wild thyme blows" be in- 

 accessible, the country holds many 

 a marshy meadow wherein all man- 

 ner of delightful acquaintances may be 

 made. In such "marish places" grow 

 pitcher-plants, dotting the swale with 

 fairy parasols of rose and maroon, 

 orchids, fragile and beautiful in pink and 

 lavender, while treacherous sundews, 

 plants of doom to the lesser members of 

 the insect kingdom, are scattered among 

 the sedges and rushes above which rise 

 the taller grasses of moist grounds. 



In June when the season is at its 

 height — though in reality it is only ap- 

 preciation that is more vivid in early 

 summer, for each week brings new bloom 

 and colour to the marsh — the Blue-joint 

 often covers large areas, or appears in 

 isolated specimens among the sedges. 

 This grass is tall and slender, bearing 

 narrow flowering-heads which are usually 

 strongly tinged with bluish purple, and 

 on some soils the dark green leaves 

 change to a dull purplish colour that is 

 noticeable even from a distance. The seeds ripen early, and 

 in some localities the grass is a difficult one to find in bloom, as 



121 



Blue-ioint Grass 

 Calamagroslis canadensis 



