GBASSY NOOKS. 155 



foliage and purple fly-like florets. The Wood Melic 

 Grass (M. uniflora) has a drooping slightly branched 

 panicle ; the barren florets are stalked, and the fertile 

 seated. The Mountain Melic (M. nutans) has a droop- 

 ing spike, and the paleae have no awns. On damp 

 moorlands we may find the Purple Melic (M. cceru- 

 led) : its bluish-green foliage is rather narrower than 

 the others, the florets smaller and more numerous. 



"We must not overlook the early-flowering Blue 

 Moor Grass (Sesleria ccerulea), the tenant of the 

 chalky uplands. It may be known by the spikelets 

 being arranged in the form of an oval cluster, by its 

 blue-tinged glumes and narrow foliage. 



The Holy Grass (HierocTiloe lorealis) is a pretty 

 grass frequenting the Scottish glens. It has a scat- 

 tered panicle of florets, three to each spikelet. 



Who does not know the familiar Quaking Grass 

 (Sriza) ? the " Trembling Grass," the " Quakers and 

 Shakers " of old Gerarde, the " Ladies' tresses " of 

 our childhood. In the Midlands there is a lingering 

 superstition that this elegant grass brings ill luck to 

 its possessor. There are two British varieties (B. 

 media), and the small Quaking Grass (. minor), which 

 is somewhat rare. 



