504 QRAMINE&. [AGUOPYKUM. 



2. A. re'pens, Bcauv. ; rootstock creeping, rachis of spike not brittle, 

 empty glumes 5-ribbed, fl. glumes 4-5 rigid cuspidate or acuminate rarely 

 avviied. Triticum, L. Couch or Quitch Grass. 



Fields and waste places, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 1,300 ft. in N. England ; 

 Ireland; Channel Islands; fl. June- Aug. Excessively variable. Rootstock 

 stout, long, creeping, jointed. Stems 1-4 ft., bent and ascending, smooth, 

 glabrous. Leaves flat or involute, usually scabrid above and glabrous 

 beneath, sometimes hairy ; sheaths terete ; ligule very short. Spike 2-10 

 in., rigid, slender or robust, strict or curved, not nodding, rachis glabrous or 

 pubescent. Spikelets |-1 in., very rigid ; empty glumes acute obtuse or 

 notched, rigid short points or awns of variable length ; fl. glumes quite 

 similar, but nerved only at the tip. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, N. Asia, 

 Himalaya, N. America. Triticum cani'num, var. biflo'ra, Mitt. (T. alpi'nunt, 

 Don MSS.), fouud on Ben Lawers, and said to want the creeping rootstock, 

 is (judging from the specimen) only A. re'pens. There is no accordance 

 amongst specialists as to the limits of the forms of this plant and their 

 nomenclature. 



A. RE'PENS proper ; stems solitary hollow, leaves flaccid usually hairy, nerves 

 slender scabrid in one line, spikelets 3-7-fld., rachis slender. VAK. barba'ta 

 has empty glumes tapering subulate or awned, fl. glumes awned. VAR. 

 oltu'sa has empty glumes obliquely truncate, fl. glumes obtuse apiculate. 



Sub-sp. A. PUN'GENS, R. and S. ; sterns densely tufted solid above, leaves firm 

 involute ribbed, ribs scabrid in one line, spikelets 5-12-fld., rachis with broad 

 internodes. Seashores and tidal rivers. A. littora'le, Eeichb. (Triticum, 

 Host.), has glumes acuminate, fl. glume mucronate or awned. A. pycnan'- 

 thum, Gren. and Godr., is more glaucous, spike more compact, empty 

 glumes rounded obtuse, fl. glumes obtuse mucronate. 



Sub-sp. A. ACU'TUM, R. and 8. ; stems loosely tufted solid geniculate at the 

 base, leaves firm not so involute ribbed glabrous or hairy, ribs scabrid all 

 over, spike arching lax long, spikelets 5-8-fld., rachis with very broad inter- 

 nodes. Triticum acu'tum, DC. ; T. lax'um, Fries. Sandy shores. Interme- 

 diate between re'pens audjun'ceum. 



3. A. jTm'ceuxn, Beauv. ; rootstock creeping, rachis of spike fragile, 

 spikelets large shining, empty glumes 5-11-ribbed, fl. glumes 4-10 obtuse 

 acute notched or truncate rarely mucronate. Triticum, L. 



Sandy seashores, local, Orkney to Devon and Kent ; Ireland ; Channel 

 Islands; fl. July-Aug Often glaucous, rigid, forming large masses. 

 Rootstock stout; extensively creeping. Stems bent below, ascending, 

 smooth, sheathed at the base. Leaves coriaceous, involute, pubescent above, 

 glabrous beneath ; sheaths smooth, rather inflated ; ligule short. Spike 2- 

 4 in., stout, curved ; rachis very stout, smooth. Spikel,ets -lJ in., distant, 

 very stout, pale, rigidly coriaceous, smooth, shining ; empty glumes strongly 

 or faintly nerved ; fl. glume obscurely so ; internodes of rachis much dilated 

 upwards. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, N. America ? 



45. LEPTU'RUS, Br. 



Slender grasses. Spikelets solitary, sessile, distichous, alternate in a 

 small spike, placed broadside to and in excavations of the jointed rachis, 



