8 ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS. 
with two green ribs on either side; having a lengthened slender 
dorsal awn arising almost immediately above the base. Upper 
portion of the keel hairy. Anthers conspicuous, yellow in colour. 
Styles joined together. Stigmas divided, slender, and downy. 
Seed ovate. Stem erect, circular, polished, and striated, carrying 
four or five leaves, with smooth inflated sheaths. Joints smooth. 
Leaves flat, acute, both surfaces usually rough. Inflorescence 
compound, branched. Panicle upright, from one to two inches 
long; cylindrical-oblong, compact, with short branches placed 
all round the rachis. Length varying from one to three feet, 
according to circumstances. Root perennial and fibrous. 
Flowers through April, May, and June, and ripens its seed 
in July and August. 
Dr. Parnell gives the following distinctions in his ‘Grasses of 
Scotland,” from other species in the same genus:— 
“Ist—From <A. geniculatus in upper leaf beg only half the 
length of its sheath; awn extending more than half its length 
beyond the palea; palea conical, with four distinct broad green 
ribs; glumes more acute, and of a different shape, whereas in 
A. geniculatus the upper leaf is nearly the same length as its 
shield; palea obtuse, with four cndistinct green ribs, tinged at 
apex with purple. ; . 
2nd.—From A. fulvus in the awn of A. fulvus not extending 
beyond the palea. 
3rd.—From A. agrestis in the stems and sheaths being smooth, 
in A. agrestis they are rough. 
4th.—From A. alpinus in the panicle being longer; in JA. 
alpinus it is not an inch long; also differs in the position of 
the awn.” 
My thanks are due to Dr. Wilson, of Nottingham, and to 
Mr. Joseph Sidebotham, of Manchester, for the illustrated 
specimens. 
