GRASSES OF SCOTLAND. 43 



latitude 62. Its limit of altitude seems to be about 1500 feet above 

 the seel. 



Flowers in the second week of June, and ripens its seed in the last 

 week of July. Cattle are fond of the leaves. 



28. Melica nutans.* 

 Mountain Melic- Grass. 



Specific Characters. — Inflorescence racemed. Calyx containing 

 two perfect florets. (Plate XYUI.) 



Description. — It grows from twelve to eighteen inches high. The 

 root is perennial, creeping. Stem erect, slender, roughish on the 

 upper part, bearing four or five leaves with rough striated sheaths ; 

 upper sheath shorter than its leaf, crowned with a very short, obtuse 

 ligule. Leaves long, narrow, acute, flaccid, of a light green, smooth 

 on the back, slightly hairy on the inner surface, and rough towards 

 the points. Infiorescence racemed. Raceme long, usually of ten spike- 

 lets, on short, rough footstalks. Spikelets large, ovate, pendulous, of 

 two perfect, and one imperfect floret. Calyx of two broad rather 

 unequal glumes (Fig. 1 ), of a reddish-brown, smooth, five-ribbed ; the 

 lower glume the smaller. Florets of two palese, (Fig. 2), the outer 

 palea of lowermost floret equal in length to the glumes ; broad, ob- 

 tuse, seven-ribbed, smooth. Inner palea broad, obtuse, with two green 

 marginal ribs delicately fringed. Second floret elevated on a short 

 smooth footstalk, but similar in other respects to the floret below. 

 The third or imperfect floret of an oval form situated on a long smooth 

 pedicle, not projecting beyond the calyx. 



Obs. — This gi-ass is distinguished from Melica unijiora in the in- 

 florescence being racemed, and the calyx containing two perfect florets ; 

 — whereas in M. unijiora the inflorescence is simple panicled, and the 

 calyx contains but one perfect floret. 



This grass is found most generally in rather damp shady woods, of 

 an altitude of 500 feet above the sea, its limit being 2000 feet In 

 Scotland it is not frequent ; found in Aberdeenshire, Forfarshire, Fife- 

 shire, and near Edinburgh. In England it is met v^-ith in Northum- 



* McVicn nutans, Linn. Smith, Hooker, Gieville, Lindlev, Koch. 



