TRIAND. DIGYN. 33 



land as food, and according to Lightfoot in Poland and Germany. 

 Sold also in our shops and employed occasionally as a nourishing and 

 mild diet. 



3. P. maritima (creeping Sea Meadow-grass), panicle erect sub- 

 coarctate (rigid), spikelets linear of about 5 obtuse flowers 

 which are obsoletely 5- nerved, leaves convolute, root creeping. 

 Lightf.p.98. E.B. Ml 40. 



HAB. Sea-coast in many places. Isles of Oransa and Skye and at Loch 

 Broom, Ross-shire, Light/. Fl. July. 11 . 



Eight to twelve inches high, rigid, glaucous. Leaves involute, some- 

 what pungent. Ligule ovate, bluntish. Glumes all firm, cartilagi- 

 nous. Cat. valves nearly as large as the cor., with mostly 3 ribs. 

 Florets hairy at the base, sometimes purplish. Lightfoot was quite 

 mistaken in supposing it might be a var. of P.fluitans. 



4. P. distans (reflexed Meadow-grass), panicle divaricate, 

 branches at length deflexed, spikelets linear of about 5 obtuse 

 flowers which are obsoletely 5 -nerved, leaves plane^ root 

 fibrous. E.B.t, 986. 



HAB. Coast of Angus-shire and other parts of Scotland., G. Don. 



FL July, Aug. 2/. 

 One foot high. Leaves linear, plane, not pungent. Ligule short, obtuse. 



Branches of the panicle singularly deflexed, slender. Spikelets much 



smaller than in the last species. Glumes membranous, softer. Cal. 



valves much smaller than the cor., unequal ; larger one obscurely 3- 



nerved. Allied to the last, but very distinct. 



5. P. procumbent (procumbent Sea Meadow-grass)) panicle 

 compact ovate-lanceolate disticho-secund (rigid), spikelets li- 

 near-lanceolate of about 4 flowers which are 5-ribbed. E. B. 

 t. 532. 



HAB. Salt marshes, not uncommon, D.Don. Fl, June, July. 0. 



^ulms procumbent, 6 8 inches long, glaucous. Leaves linear. Li" 

 gule short, very blunt. Panicle about 2 inches long, branches 

 patent distichous, their spikelets secund. Cal. valves smaller than 

 the floret, obtuse, strongly ribbed. Florets oblong, distant upon 

 the racln's. Inner cor. valve membranous, bifid at the point. 



6. P. rigida (hard Meadow- grass), panicle lanceolate disticho- 

 secund (rigid), spikelets linear acute of about 7 flowers which 

 are almost ribless, root fibrous. Light f. p. 1084. E. B. 

 M371. 



HAB. On walls, rocks, and dry barren soils. On Salisbury Craigs 

 and all the rocks in the King's Park, Edinb., Light/. Road-side 

 from Edinb. to Haddington, near Drummore, and on walls Burnt- 

 island, plentiful, Maugh. About Edinb. and coast of Fife, com- 

 mon, Mr. Arnott. FL June. . 



Whole plant very rigid and wiry, 3 5 inches long, ascendent or 

 erect. Leaves rigid, linear, setaceous. Ligule oblong, jagged. 

 Radiis angled, sometimes at once bearing the spikelets (when it 

 looks very like Triticum loliaceum), but more usually throwing out 

 branches,. Cal. valves nearly as lo,ng as the cor., ribbed. Florets 



P 



