288 GRASSES OF BRITAIN. 



Elymus GENICULATUS. 



Pendulous Sea Lime- Grass. 



Plate ex XX I. 



Specific Characters. — Spike bent perpendicularly downwards. 

 Glumes longer than the florets. 



Description. — Root perennial, creeping. Stem erect, smooth, 

 striated, and hollow, from two to five feet high, bearing three or four 

 leaves, with long, smooth, striated sheaths ; upper sheath longer than 

 its leaf. Ligule very short and blunt. Joints covered by the sheaths. 

 Leaves long, narrow, hard, and rigid, very glaucous, spinous-pointed, 

 folded or rolled in, smooth behind, rough within. Iriflorescence- 

 spiked. Spike very long, sometimes two feet in length, at first erect, 

 at length becoming strongly bent at an acute angle at the first, second, 

 or third spikelet. Rachis winged, smooth, slightly hairy on the ridges, 

 toothed alternately for the reception of the sessile spikelets. Spikelets 

 arranged in pairs on each tooth of the rachis, composed of two glumes 

 and three or four awnless florets. Glumes narrow, acute, nearly 

 equal, three-ribbed, roughish, and somewhat hairy towards their points, 

 smooth below. Florets to two pale«, a little shorter than the 

 glumes ; outer palea acute, downy, five-ribbed ; inner palea shorter 

 than the outer, membranous, cloven at the summit, fi-inged at the 

 margins. Pedicle of second floret hairy. Ovarium hairy. Styles 

 two, short. Stigmas long and feathery. Filaments three. Anthers 

 notched at each end. Scales acute. 



Obs. — Elymvs geniculatus is distinguished from Elymus arenarius^ 

 in the lowermost ^ore^ being shorter than the glumes by one-fourth, 

 and the uppermost j^ore^ not projecting beyond the glumes ; — whereas 

 in Elymus arenarius the lowermost fioret is as long or longer than 

 the glumes, and the uppermost Jloret always projects beyond the 

 glumes ; besides which, it is a smaller plant ; spike shorter, more 

 compact, and always erect, never becoming bent as in Elymus geni- 

 culatus. 



Elymics r/eniculatus, Smith, Hooker, Knapp, Curtis, Babingtoti. 

 4 



