52 GRASSES OF SCOTLAND. 



ing to the soil. It grows generally on light barren sandy soil, either 

 in woods or open pastures, but neither cows, horses, or sheep eat it. 

 Pigs are said to be fond of the roots, which possess a considerable 

 quantity of nutritive matter, having very much the flavour of new 

 meal. It is a common grass in some districts, but not so frequent 

 as Holcus lanatus. Found in most of the counties in Britain. 

 Not known in Lapland or America. Occurs in Sweden, Denmark, 

 Germany, France, and Italy. Its limit of altitude about 1500 feet 

 above the sea. 



Flowers in the second week in July, and ripens its seed in August. 



35. AlRA C^SPITOSA.* 



Tufted Hair- Grass. 



Specific Characters. — Awn arising from a little above the base of 

 the floret, and scarcely extending beyond the jagged summit. (Plate 

 XXIII.) 



Description. — It grows from eighteen inches to three feet high. 

 The root is perennial, fibrous, tufted. Stem erect, round, roughish, 

 bearing four or five leaves with mostly roughish striated sheaths ; the 

 upper sheath much longer than its leaf, crowned with a long acute 

 membranous ligule. Joints smooth. Leaves narrow, acute, harsh, 

 strongly ribbed, roughish on both surfaces, but more so on the inner 

 surface; radical leaves mostly long, linear and narrow, sometimes folded 

 or involute. Injiorescence compound panicled, of a silky greenish grey, 

 sometimes of a brownish tinge. Panicle large, at first drooping, 

 afterwards erect, the branches spreading in every direction, rachis and 

 branches rough. Spihelets numerous, small, of two or three awned florets, 

 the upper one extending a little beyond the calyx. Calyx of two acute 

 nearly equal glumes (Fig. 1) ; the upper glume three-ribbed, roughish 

 on the central rib ; the lower glume without lateral ribs. Florets of two 

 palece, (Fig. 2), the outer palea of lowermost floret shorter than the 

 glumes, membranous, jay^ec? or four-toothed on the summit, hairy at the 

 base, without lateral ribs, furnished with a slender awn arising from a lit- 



• Aira cce'ipUosa, Linn. Smith, Hooker, Greville. Deschampsia cxspiiosa, Lindlcy. 



4 



