G34 GRAMINE^. (GIJ.VSS FAMILY.) 



» * Flowers oblong or lanceolate, awnless or nearly so (iA."-4" lonrj) : ffrain ofccn 

 free! (Root perennial : culms mostlij tall : leaves Jlat.) 



4. P. el.\tior, L. (Talleu or Meadow Fescue.) Panicle narrow, 

 contracted before and after (lowering, erect, with short branches ; spikelcts ci-owded, 

 5 - 10-flowcrcd ; the /lowers rather remote, obloarj-lanceolate ; lower palct 5-ncrved, 

 scarious-maryincd, blunt, acute, or rarely with a distinct but very short awn. — 

 The type id large, 3° -4° high ; sj)ikelcts about C" long, in an ample and com- 

 pound panicle. Rich grass-land. — Yar. I'Katexsis (F. pratensis, /7'/f/.s-.) is 

 lower (l°-3° high), with a simpler or close panicle, of smaller or narrower 

 spikelcts; and abounds in grass-lands. June -Aug. (Nat. from Eu.) 



T). P. nutans, Willd. Pattide of several long and slendir spreading'ln-anches, 

 mostly in ])airs, drooping when old, rough, naked below, bearing near their ex- 

 tremity a few ovate 3 -5-flowered spikelcts (3" long) on pretty long pedicels; 

 Jlowers ovate-oblong, rather obtuse, close together, coriaceous, smooth, very obscurely 

 5-nervcd. — Rocky woods and copses. July. — Culm 2° - 4° high, naked above : 

 leaves broadly linear, taper-pointed, dark green, often rather hairy. 



38. BROMUS, L. Brome-Grass. (PI. lo.) 



Spikelcts 5 - many-flowcrcd, paniclcd. Glumes unequal, membranaceous ; the 

 lower I - 5-, the upper 3 - 9-nerved. Lower palet either convex on the back or 

 comprcsscd-kceled, 5 - 9-nerved, awned or bristle-pointed from below the mostly 

 2-ck'ft tip : upper palet at length adhering to the groove of the oblong or linear 

 grain. Stamens 3. Styles attached below the apex of the ovary. — Coarse 

 Grasses, with large spikelcts, at length drooping, on pedicels thickened at the 

 apex. (An ancient name for the Oat, from ^p6fxos,/ood.) 

 § 1. Lower palet convex on the back ; the Jlowers imbricated over one another before 



expansion : lower glume 3 - 5-nerved, the upper 5 - 9-nerved. 



* Annuals or biennials, weeds of cultivation, introduced into grain-fields, or rarehj in 



waste grounds, probably all derived from the European B. arvensis, L. 



1. B. secAlinus, L. (Cheat or Chess.) Panicle spreading, even in fruit, 

 the drooping peduncles little branched ; spikelcts oblong-ovate, turgid, smooth, of 

 8- 10 rather distant flowers; lower palet rather longer than the up])er, short- 

 awned or awnless; sheaths nearly glabrous. — Too common in wheat-fields. 

 June, July. (Adv. from Eu.) 



2. B. eacem6sus, L. (Upright Chess.) Panicle erect, simple, rather 

 narrow, contracted in fruit ; flowers closer, more imbricated ; lower palet decidedly 

 exceeding the upper, bearing an awn of its own lengtli ; culm more slender ; sheatlis 

 sometimes hairy : otherwise nearly as in the last, for which it is often mistaken 

 in this country. (Adv. from Eu.) • 



3. B. MOLLIS, L. (Soft Chess.) Panicle erect, closely confrrtcled in fruit ; 

 spikelets conical-ovate, somewhat flattened ; the flowers closely imbricated, downy 

 (as also the leaves, &c.) ; lower palet acute, long-awned. — Wheat-fields, New York 

 to Virginia : scarce. June. (Adv. from Eu.) 



« * Perennial: indigenous, (fjowcr glume strongly ^-nerved, the upper b-nerved. 



4. B. K^lmii, Gray. (Wild Chess.) Panicle simple, small (3' -4' long) ; 

 spikelets drooping on capillary peduncles, closely 7 - 12-flowered, densely silky 



