338 



SUMMER FLOWERS. 



(314) Calamagrostis. Small-reed. 



C. Epigeios : stems 3-4 feet high, erect, firm ; leaves long, 

 narrow, somewhat glaucous ; panicle branched, not spreading, 

 from a few inches to near a foot long, often purplish ; outer 

 glumes very narrow-lanceolate, pointed, almost subulate. — 

 Moist woods and thickets. Fl. July. 



C. laneeolata is iisually more slender, with a much looser 

 panicle, more frequently assuming a shining purple colour. 



(315) Aira. Hair-grass. 



A. csespitosa : stems 2-4 feet high ; leaves stiff, flat, rough 

 above, forming dense tufts; panicle ^-1 foot long, very ele- 

 gant, with spreading, slender, almost capillary branches, the 

 spikelets silvery-grey or purplish; outer pales scarcely pro- 

 jecting from the glumes, with a fine hair-like awn inserted 

 near the base, not so long as the glume. — Moist, shady places, 

 n. June, July. 



A. flexuosa: stems rather slender, 1-1 i foot high; leaves 

 narrow, rolled inwards on the edges, almost subulate ; panicle 

 spreading, 2-3 inches long; spikelets very shining, the fine 

 hair-like awns protruding beyond the glumes. — Heaths and 

 hilly pastures. Fl. July. 



A. caryophyllea : annual ; stems slender, graceful, six 

 inches high; leaves short, fine; panicle loose, spreading, with 

 long, capillary branches, the awns shortly protruding from the 

 glumes. — Sandy and hilly pastures. Fl. June, July. [See 

 also p. 77.'] 



(316) Avena. Oat. 



A. fatua : annual ; stems erect, glabrous, 2-3 feet high ; 

 panicle loose, of large spikelets, hanging from filiform pedicels 



