BRACHYPODIUM.] GRAMINE^E. 453 



Copses, hedgerows, &c. ; ascending to 1,000 ft. in the N. of England ; fl. June- 

 July. Perennial. Stems 1-3 ft., very slender, terete, inclined, leafy. 

 Leaves J-{| in. broad, flat, bright green, ciliate ; sheaths terete ; ligule 

 obtuse. Spike 2-6 in. ; rachis flattened, smooth, slender. Spikelets 8-18, 

 1-2 in., appressed, linear, very shortly pedicelled, hirsute, green ; empty 

 glumes cuspidate, strongly 3-5 nerved ; fl. glumes 8-10, ^ in., linear-oblong, 

 nerves strong, tip acuminate awned ; palea ciliate at the tip, equalling the 

 glume. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, N.W. Himalaya. 



2. B. pinna'tum, Beauv. ; rootstock creeping, leaves narrow involute, 

 spike erect, awn shorter than its fl. glume. 



Downs, hedgerows in chalky soil, from York to Devon and Kent ; absent 

 from Ireland ; fl. July. Glaucous. Stems 1-3 ft., very slender, terete, 

 naked, smooth. Leaves rigid, almost glabrous, terete, rarely flat ; ligule 

 ciliate. Spike 1-6 in., rachis flattened, smooth. Spikelets f-lj in., erect, 

 curved away from the rachis, glabrous or nearly so, green and purplish ; 

 empty and fl. glumes much as in B. sylvaticum, but glabrous or nearly so, 

 and tips of the latter suddenly contracted into the short awn. DISTKIB. 

 Europe, N. Africa, Siberia. 



37. TRIT'ICUM, L. 



Spikelets solitary, sessile, distichous, compressed, spiked, inserted broad- 

 side to the rachis, 3-maiiy-fld. Empty glumes 2, shorter than the flower- 

 ing, unequal. Fl. glumes herbaceous, rigid, many-nerved, awned or not. 

 Palea with ciliate nerves. Scales ovate, entire, ciliate. Stamens 3. Ovary 

 hairy at the top ; stigmas distant, subsessile. Fruit grooved, usually 

 adherent to the palea. DISTKIB. All temp, climates ; species 20. ETYM. 

 The classical name. 



1. T. caui'num, Huds. ; root fibrous, stolons 0, empty glumes 3-5- 

 ribbed, fl. glumes 2-5-awned. 



Woods, banks, and waste places ; ascends to 1,300 ft. in Yorkshire ; fl. July. 

 Bright green. Stems 1-3 ft., slender. Spike 2-10 in., very slender, often 

 flexuous and nodding ; rachis with scabrid edges. Spikelets ^-f in., green, 

 rather slender ; pedicel very short, pubescent or glabrous ; empty glumes 

 scabrid, cuspidate or shortly awned, nerves usually 3, very firm ; fl. glumes 

 linear-lanceolate, smooth except at the 5-nerved tip ; awn scabrid, longer or 

 shorter than the palea. DISTKIB. Europe, Siberia, Himalaya, N. America. 



2. T. re'pens, L. ; rootstock creeping, empty glumes 5 -ribbed, fl. glumes 

 4-5 rigid cuspidate or acuminate rarely awned. T. alpinum, Don MS. 

 Fields and waste places; ascends to 1,300 ft. in the N. of England ; fl. June- 



Aug. Excessively variable. Rootstock stout, long, creeping, jointed. Stemt 

 1-4 ft. , bent and ascending, smooth, glabrous. Leaves very variable, flat 

 or involute, usually scabrid above and glabrous beneath, sometimes hairy ; 

 sheaths terete; ligule very short. Spite 2-10 in., rigid, slender or robust, 

 strict or curved, not nodding, rachis glabrous or pubescent. Spikelets 

 f-1 in., very rigid ; empty glumes acute obtuse or notched, rigid short points 

 or awns of variable length ; fl. glumes quite similar, but nerved only at 

 the tip, awn nearly as long as the glume. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, 

 N. Asia, Himalaya, N.America. T. caninum, var. bijlorum, Mitt. (T. alpi- 

 num, Don MSS.), found on Ben Lawers, and said to want the creeping root- 

 stock, is only T. repens. 



