CHAMAGROSTIS.] GRAMINEJE. 427 



1. C. minima, BorTch. ; stems capillary. Sturmia minima, Hoppe ; 



Mibora vertia, Adans. ; Knappia agrostidea, Sm. 



Wet sands, especially near the sea, Anglesea and Jersey ; formerly in Essex ; 

 naturalized in Haddington ; fl. March- April. Stems 1-3 in., txifted. Leaves 

 short, strict, scaberulous, obtuse, setaceous, margins involute; sheaths 

 white, inflated ; ligule short. Spike -1 in. Spikelets very minute. 



6. PHLE'UM, L. CAT'S-TAIL GRASS. 



Spikelets in spikelike panicles, 1-fld., with rarely a rudimentary 2d. 

 Empty glumes exceeding the flowering, equal, much laterally compressed, 

 keeled, awned, or mucronate. Fl. glume awned or not, 3-5-nerved, 

 toothed. Palea small. Scales 2, hyaline, toothed on the outer margins. 

 Stamens 3. Ovary glabrous ; styles long, stigmas slender, hairy. Fruit 

 compressed, enclosed in the fl. glume andpalea. DISTRIB. N. and S. temp, 

 and Arctic regions ; species 10. ETYM. The old Greek name. 



* Empty glumes truncate, tip scarioits. Fl. glume 3-nerved. 



1. P. praten se, L. ; leaf-sheaths appressed, panicle cylindric, keel of 

 empty glumes hispid, awn rigid \ their length. Timothy-grass. 

 Pastures, &c., ascending to nearly 1,400ft. in the N. of England; fl. June- 



Aug. Perennial. Stem 6-18 in., tuberous at the base, tufted, ascending, 

 smooth. Leaves short, flat; ligule long. Panicle 1-6 in., obtuse, green. 

 Xji-'iv/ets crowded, shortly pedicelled ; empty glumes with the awns Jin. ; 

 keel green, stout, ciliate with stiff setae, sides pale ; awns scabrid, rigid ; 

 fl. glumes membranous, cuspidate ; anthers oblong. DISTRIB. Europe, N. 

 Africa, Siberia, W. Asia; introd. in N. America.- -An excellent fodder. 



2. P. alpi num, L. ; upper sheaths inflated, panicle ovoid or oblong, 

 empty glumes equalling their rigid awn, keel hispid. 



Edges of alpine springs and rills ; Perth, Forfar and Aberdeen, from 2,100 

 to 3,600ft.; fl. July. Perennial. Stem 6-18 in., solitary, creeping below, 

 smooth, ascending, rigid. Leaves short, flat, spreading ; lower sheaths 

 appressed; ligule short. Panicle ^-1J in., dull purple and green. Empty 

 glumes as in P. pratense, but larger, in. including the awn. DISTRIB. Arctic 

 and Alpine Europe, N. and W. Asia to the Himalaya, N. America, Fuegia. 

 ** Empty glumes gradually pointed-; fl. glume 3-nerved, with the pedicel 

 of a 2d at its base. 



3. P. arena'rium, L. ; upper sheaths inflated, panicle cylindric-oblong 

 narrowed at the base, empty glumes hardly awned, keel ciliate above. 

 Sandy dunes, &c. on the E. and S. coasts, from Aberdeen to Kent and Corn- 

 wall, local ; and in Ireland ; fl. May-June. Annual, glabrous. Stems 

 2-6 in., crowded, leafy. Leaves broad, flat ; sheaths smooth ; ligule long. 

 Panicle ^-1 in., most contracted at the base, glaucous. Spikelets iV in., 

 crowded ; empty glumes lanceolate, acuminate, punctulate ; fl. glume very 

 small, hairy ; anthers minute, short, yellow. DISTRIB. Europe, W. Africa. 



4. P. Bcehmeri, Wibel ; sheaths hardly inflated, panicle cylindric 

 long, keel of shortly awned empty glumes almost smooth or ciliate. 

 Sandy and chalky fields in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Essex, and Herts ; 



fl. July. Annual, glabrous. Stems 10-18 in., ascending, smooth. Leaves 

 short, flat, scabrid, rather glaucous ; upper ligules long. Panicle 2-4 in., 

 rather narrow, obtuse, green, slightly interrupted. Spikelets, -ft in., 



