SMALL BENT GRASS 



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the spikelet. The lower palea is jagged above, the upper absent or 

 very small. 



This graceful grass is 18 in. high. The flower is in bloom in 

 July and August. The plant is perennial, and may be propagated 

 by division. 



The flowers are bisexual, and pollinated by the wind. The flowers 

 open at 1 1 a.m. There are 3 stamens, the styles are short, and the 

 stigma is feathery. 



The seed is a caryopsis or achene, united to the pericarp, and the 



SMALL BENT GRASS (Agrostis canina, L.) 



fruit is enclosed in a glume, which assists it in being blown to a dis- 

 tance by the wind. 



Small Bent Grass is a sand-lover, and addicted to a sand soil. 



Agrostis, Theophrastus, is from the Greek agros, field, and canina, 

 Latin, refers to the silvery-whitish appearance. 



It is attacked by a fungus, Tilletia decipiens, which dwarfs the 

 host-plant, and such plants were once known as A. pumila. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



330. Agrostis canina, L. Stem tall, leaves narrow, involute below, 

 sheaths glabrous, panicle erect, diffuse in flower, glumes 2, unequal, no 

 inner palea. 



