254 GRASSES OF BRITAIN. 



Bromus MAXIMUS, 



Great Brome- Grass. 



Plate CXV. 



Specific Characters. — Rachis pubescent. Awns longer than their 

 florets. Outer palea equal in length to the large glume. 



Description. — Root annual, fibrous. Stem erect, hollow, round, 

 slightly downy, from one to two feet high, bearing four or five leaves 

 with striated sheaths ; upper sheath rather longer than its leaf, 

 smooth ; the lower sheaths soft and downy. Ligule of upper sheath 

 prominent, ragged, about as long as broad. Joints usually four, the 

 upper one placed about the centre of the stem, mostly uncovered. 

 Leaves flat, acute, downy on both sides, roughish on the margins. 

 Infiorescence racemed, erect, the rachis and footstalks downy, (not in 

 the slightest degree scabrous.) Spikelets lanceolate, about an inch 

 and a quarter in length, and, including the awns, two inches and a 

 half in length ; composed usually of eight-awned florets and two 

 glumes, with downy footstalks not the length of the spikelets. 

 Glumes unequal, not downy, minutely toothed on their keels ; the 

 outer one the smaller, about one-third shorter than the inner, of a 

 lanceolate form, three-ribbed ; the inner much larger, of the same 

 form, five-ribbed. Florets of two palese ; the outer palea of lowermost 

 floret acutely lanceolate, as long as the large glume, very rough to the 

 touch when felt from above downwards, (not downy), bifid at the 

 summit, membranous and glossy at the margins, sharply pointed at 

 the base, furnished with seven prominent rough ribs, the three cen- 

 tral ribs continuous with the awn. Awns straight and rough, arising 

 from a little below the bifid membranous summit of the outer palea ; 

 the awn of the lowermost floret the shortest, which more than equals 

 the length of the outer palea by one-half; none of the awns ever ex- 

 ceed twice the length of their florets ; inner palea about one-third 

 shorter than the other, very thin and membranous, linear-lanceo- 

 late, fringed at the folds the whole length. Styles two, arising 

 from the summit of the ovarium. Stigmas feathery. Filaments 

 three. Anthers notched at each end. Scales acute. 



Bromus maximiis, Desf., Kunth, Hooker, Bab. 

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