CH. vn] Botanical Description of Species 123 



near base and tapering to a rather blunt point. The blades 

 are rather limp and often waved or puckered. Ligule relatively 

 long, white and conspicuous. No auricles. 



Flowers throughout most of the year. Culms ascending, from 

 2 inches to a foot high. Panicle 1 to 2 inches long, erect, spreading, 

 triangular in outline, one-sided, the rachis and branches smooth. 

 Spikelets small, ovate-lanceolate, 3-6 flowered. Glumes rather 

 unequal, three-nerved. 



"Seeds" Outer palea 2-3 mm. long, five-nerved, with mem- 

 branous margins above, smooth, except for a fringe of fine silky 

 hairs on the lower half of the keel and lateral nerves. Rachilla 

 cylindrical, outstanding. The " web " is absent. (Fig. 136.) 



Poa bulbosa, L. (Bulbous Poa.) 



A small tufted and glabrous perennial about 6 inches or less in 

 height. Blades short. Shoots round. Ligule long, acute. The 

 base of the stems and lower sheaths are much swollen. Food 

 materials are stored in these bulbous stems and they also assist 

 in the propagation of the plant. 



Flowers in May; culms smooth. The panicle consists of 

 rather few, ovate, 3-4 flowered spikelets. Glumes equal, three- 

 nerved. Outer palea ovate-acute, five-nerved. A " web" is present 

 at the base of the palese. Occurs chiefly near the coasts in the 

 eastern and southern counties of England. 



Poa compressa, L. (Flat-stemmed Meadow-grass.) (Fig. 137.) 



A rather frequent perennial on dry soils and rocky situations 

 throughout Great Britain. Sheaths split 1 most of the way down, 

 sharply keeled, firm, and much compressed. Blades folded in the 

 shoot, usually short and narrow. Ligule short and blunt. No 

 auricles. The whole plant is generally glabrous and spreads by 

 underground rhizomes. It is cultivated in N. America under the 

 name of Canadian Blue-grass, but it is of little agricultural value 

 in this country. 



Flowers about July; culms about 12 inches long, ascending, 

 very hard, much compressed, with very short purple nodes. 

 Panicle small, 1-2 inches long, erect, unilateral, with short branches. 

 Spikelets small, ovate, 4-7 flowered. Glumes almost equal, 

 three-nerved, sometimes of a purplish hue. 



1 Entire while young. 



