GRASSES OF SCOTLAND. 127 



is one of those grasses which never thrives unless combined with others. 

 Sheep prefer it to most grasses. It is frequent in Scotland, 

 England, and Ireland ; also a native of Norway, Sweden, Germany, 

 France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Russia, and North Africa. Not 

 found in America. Its limit of altitude is about 1000 feet above 

 the sea. 



Flowers in the second week of July, and ripens its seed about the 

 middle of August 



84. Festuca bromoides. * 

 Barren Fescue-Grass. 



Specific Character. — Awn longer than the palea. (Plate LIV.) 

 Description. — It grows eighteen inches high. The root is annual, 

 fibrous. Stem erect, slender, smooth, round and naked on the upper 

 half ; bearing three or four leaves with smooth striated sheaths ; the 

 upper sheath much longer than its leaf, crowned with a very short li- 

 gule, rounded on each side, the one side more prominent than the 

 other ; second sheath not reaching to the first joint Joints three, 

 smooth, the second joint frequently throwing out a branch. Leaves 

 very narrow, rather short, often involute, smooth behind, hairy on the 

 inner siu"face. Infiorescence simple panicled, long and slender, the 

 upper part taking a gentle curve, with the spikelets leaning to one 

 side ; the branches erect, rough, angular, and single, the lower one 

 the longest. Spikelets erect, the seven or eight uppermost arising im- 

 mediately from the rachis, the lower ones on branches ; of five awned 

 florets. Calyx of two very unequal acute glumes (Fig. 1,) the upper- 

 most three-ribbed, the lower one without lateral ribs, (the length of 

 the small glumes varies exceedingly even in the same panicle, therefore 

 it cannot be relied on as a character.) Florets of two paleae (Fig. 2) ; 

 the outer palea of lowermost floret equal in length to the large glume, 

 five-ribbed ; roughish on the upper part, terminating in a long slen- 

 der roughish awn, rather longer than the palea. Inner palea lance- 

 olate, thin, occasionally bifid, furnished TN-ith two green marginal ribs, 

 minutely fringed on the upper half. 



* FcstiKa bromoides, Smith, Hooker, Greville. Vulpia bromoides, Dumort., Lindley. 

 Festuca sciuroides, Kocli. 



