50 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 



RED TOP (Agrostis stolonifera L.). 



Plate 5; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 9. 



Other Latin name: Agrostis alba L. 



Other English names: Fiorin Grass, Creeping Bent-grass, White 

 Bent-grass. 



Botanical description : The name Red Top has been used for 

 two species of the genus Agrostis A. stolonifera L., which is also 

 called A. alba L., and A. vulgaris With. A. stolonifera and A. 

 vulgaris are two distinct species but are often confused. Plants 

 known as Red Top have often been described by American and 

 Canadian writers under the name of A. vulgaris, which is compara- 

 tively rare in America and of little agricultural value. As the 

 description in such cases is not of A. vulgaris, but evidently of A. 

 stolonifera, the latter species must be considered the true Red Top. 

 The following description consequently refers to A. stolonifera, 

 which is common all over North America. 



There are a great number of widely different varieties of Red 

 Top. It is strongly perennial with a creeping rootstock which 

 generally sends out runners. Although these are sometimes under- 

 ground, as a rule they creep along the surface, rooting at the joints 

 and producing numerous leafy shoots. On account of the creeping 

 character of the rootstock and the runners, Red Top does not grow 

 in tufts but forms a dense, continuous sod. The stems vary in the 

 different varieties. In some they are only a couple of inches high, 

 while in others they reach a height of four feet or more. Only 

 varieties of the latter type are important from an agricultural stand- 

 point. The leaves vary in size, number and colour. Their ligule 

 is always long and generally acute. The flowers are arranged in a 

 panicle with numerous branches. When in bloom the main branches 

 cf the panicle as well as the secondary ones are spreading; and as 

 their length gradually decreases towards the top of the panicle, the 

 latter has the shape of a pyramid with a broad base. When flowering 

 is over, the secondary branches lie appressed to the main branches, 

 and the latter, as a rule, to the main stem. After flowering, the 

 panicle is therefore often contracted and narrow. The numerous 

 spikelets are often reddish-brown hence the name Red Top. Each 

 spikelet contains only one flower. At blossoming time pistils and 

 stamens develop together, and both self- and cross-fertilization are 

 thus possible. 



Geographical distribution: Red Top is indigenous to all 

 European countries, northern Africa, northern and central Asia and 



