9 A MANUAL OF FARM GRASSES 



lish rye grass the florets are without awns or the awns 



are very short. 



Common Names. English rye grass is also known 



as perennial rye grass. 



On the Pacific Coast, Italian rye grass is often known 



as Australian rye grass, as the seed was imported from 



Australia. 



The rye grasses are sometimes known as ray grasses. 



The name rye grass is a misnomer, as the species are not 



closely related to rye botanically, nor 



do they resemble rye, except possibly 



in their early growth. In England 



the name darnel is used for English 



rye grass. 



Botanical Names. English rye 



grass is Lolium perenne L. Lolium is 



14. Perennial an old Latin name that was taken up 



Rye Grass. The ^ Linnaeus and applied to this grass. 



spikelets without 



awns or bristles The s P eci nc name means perennial, a 



name used by Linnaeus to distinguish 



this grass from an annual species described at the same 



time. 



Italian rye grass is Lolium multiflorum Lam. This 



species was distinguished by Lamarck nearly half a 



century after the preceding species was named. The 



specific name, many-flowered, refers to the number of 



florets in the spikelet. Italian rye grass has also been 



known as L. italicum A. Br. Some botanists consider 



the two forms to be but varieties of a single species. The 



name then would be L. perenne var. multiflorum Parn. 



or L. perenne var. italicum Parn. 



