406 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



or more properly the fruits, especially of what are called the " Cereal 

 Grains," just referred to, and which in their abundant farinaceous peri- 

 sperm, capable of great improvement in quantity and quality under cultiva- 

 tion, furnish the principal material for bread in most countries, except where 

 the severe cold forbids their growth, or the fertile soil and favourable 

 climate supply sufficient food with a less laborious agriculture, as in the 

 case of the Plantain, Bread-fruit, and other tropical esculents. The 

 Sugar-Cane is another grass of scarcely less value : and the fodder-Grasses 

 are of immense importance as furnishing food for domestic animals. A 

 few of the Grasses have somewhat active properties. 



The principal Corn-plants are : Wheat, Triticum vulyare and many 

 varieties (Spring Wheat is called T. astivum* Autumn Wheat T. hibei'- 

 nurri) ; T. Spelta, Spelt ; T. compositum, the Mummy or Egyptian Wheat, 

 has compound spikes; Barley, Hordeum distichum, with its varieties 

 Hordeum vulyare (Bere or Big) and H. hexastichum ; Oats, Avena sativa 

 and A. orientalis (Tartarian Oats) ; Rye, Secale cereale ; Maize or Indian 

 Corn, Zea Mays ; and Rice, Oryzn saliva. 



Among those less generally known are: several Millets, such as Setaria 

 germanica (German Millet) ; Setaria italica ("Kora Kang," East Indies); 

 Panicum frumentaceum (" Shamoola," Deccan) ; Andropoyon Sorghum 



(" Burra") and A. saccharatum (" Shaloo," East Indies) ; Panicum mili- 

 aceum (" Warree," East Indies) ; Penicillaria spicata (" Bajree," East 



T i \ T> _7 ?_ fit T^ 3 ** 1J TTT A. AT..* \ . T> ~lv /.*",,. i^~A 



canariensis, Canary seed, &c. &c. 



Among the most valuable fodder-Grasses of temperate climates are : 

 the Rye-grasses, Lolium perenne, italicum, &c. ; Phleum pratense, Festuca 

 pratensis, Cynosurus cristatus, Anthoxanthum odoratum, &c. Panicum 

 spectabile, a hay-grass of Brazil, grows or 7 feet high ; Anthistiria 

 australis is the " Kangaroo " Grass of Australia ; Anthistiria ciliata and 

 Cynodon Dactylon are esteemed Indian fodder-grasses ; Tripsacum dac- 

 tyloides, Gama-grass, in Mexico ; Gynerium argenteum is the Pampas- 

 grass ; and Festuca jlabettaides, the Tussac-grass of the Falkland Islands, 

 is said to be very nutritious. 



Saccharum ojficinarum is the Sugar-Cane; Sorghum saccharatum and 

 Gynerium saccharoides (Brazil) likewise contain much sugar, as does also 

 Maize, before the grain is ripened. Many Grasses are fragrant ; the Sweet 

 Vernal-grass of our meadows, Anthoxanthum odoratum, is an example, 

 the scent being most powerful in dried grass; Hierochloe borealis is 



some East- 

 and A. 

 Vetivert"), 



of which the roots are largely used. This last Grass has^ stimulating 

 properties; and another species, A. Nardus, is called "Ginger-grass,' 

 from its pungency. Many others were formerly, or are still locally, 

 esteemed as medicinal, such as: Coix lachrytna^ the hard grains of 

 which are known by the name of " Job's Tears " ; the common Reeds, 

 Phraymites arundinacea, Calamayrostis, Arundo Donax, Triticum repens, 

 (Couch Grass or Quitch of farmers), &c. The supposed poisonous pro- 

 perty of Darnel {Lolium temulerdum) is not satisfactorily ascertained. 



