302 GRAMINEjE. [Poa. 



fibrous. Br. Fl. ed. 3. p. 42. E. Fl. v. i. p. 107. E. Sot. 

 t. 1169. 



Meadows, pastures, and woods, common. Fl. June, July. If.. 

 Much resembling the last in general appearance, but clothed with a 

 softer and more abundant pubescence. This is the White Hay -seed of 

 the shops, much in demand for sowing in low meadows. 



12. ARRHENATHERUM. Beauv. Oat-like-grass. 



Panicle lax. Calyx of two valves, 2-flowered ; lowermost 

 floret with stamens only and a long twisted awn above the base, 

 upper one perfect with a short straight bristle below the 

 point. Named from (ippyv, male, and aO^p, an awn. This 

 genus has altogether the habit of Avena, from which it differs 

 in the number and structure of its florets. 



Triandria. Digynia. 



1. A. avenaceum, Beauv. Common Oat-like-grass. Br. FL 

 ed. 3. p. 42. Lindl. Syn. p. 305. Holcus avenaceus, Scop. 

 E. Bot. #.813. E. Fl. v. i. p. 108. Avena elatior, Linn. 



Hedges and pastures, frequent. FL June, July. ^ . Roots more 

 or less knotty. Stem two to three feet high. Panicle long, loose. 

 Spikelets greenish-brown. A stout grass, yielding a large crop, but 

 unpalatable to cattle, especially to horses. 



13. SESLERIA. Linn. Moor-grass. 



Panicle spiked. Calyx of two valves, nearly equal, somewhat 

 awned. Corolla of two valves, the outer jagged and awned, 

 the inner bidentate. Fruit free. Named from Leonard Sesler, 

 an Italian Physician and Botanist. 



Triandria. Digynia. 



1. S. ccerulea, Scop. Blue Moor-grass. Panicle spiked, ovate, 

 bracteated ; outer valve of the corolla with one short terminal 

 awn. Br. FL ed. 3. p. 42. E. Fl. v. i. p. 114. E. Bot. 

 t. 1613. Cynosurus cceruleus, Linn. 



Limestone rocks on Ben Bulben and other mountains in the County 

 of Sligo. Fl. April, May. 2. One of our earliest grasses. Roots 

 much tufted. Plant nine to eighteen inches high. Leaves linear, 

 obtuse. Spike of a shining bluish grey, with large yellow anthers 

 tipped with purple. Spikelets generally in pairs, oblongo-ovate, the 

 Jower ones with an ovate, ciliated, and toothed bractea at the base. 



t t f Calyx three- or, mostly, many-lowered. 



14. POA. Linn. Meadow-grass. 



Panicle lax. Calyx 2-valved, shorter than the florets. Corolla 

 2-valved, valves subovate, bluntish, awnless. Fruit free. 



