Cynosurus.] LXXXIX. GRAMINE^E. 537 



pinnate empty spikelets being the most conspicuous, and forming a 

 kind of involucre to each cluster, within which are 1 or 2 fertile 

 spikelets, each with 3 to 5 flowers. The glumes, whether empty or 

 flowering, all terminate in a very short point. 



In rather dry, hiily pastures, and downs, throughout Europe and 

 western Asia, except the extreme north. Abundant in Britain. Fl. 

 summer. The dry stalks, rejected by sheep, and remaining all the 

 autumn, are called Bents in many parts of the country. 



2. C. echinatus, Linn. (fig. 1233). Rough D. An annual, much 

 less stiff than the last, with flaccid leaves. Spike ovoid and less 

 regular ; the glumes, both of the empty and of the flowering spikelets, 

 all ending in an awn at least as long as themselves. 



In fields and waste places, common in southern Europe and east- 

 ward to the Caucasus, extending up the west of Europe to the 

 Channel Islands. In the main islands of Britain it only appears 

 occasionally on the coasts, probably when introduced with ballast. 

 Fl. summer. 



XXXTV. BRIZA. QUAKEGRASS. 



Spikelets several-flowered flat, broad, and short, hanging (in the 

 British species) from the slender branches of a loose panicle. Glumes 

 all broad, concave, but not keeled, obtuse, scarious on the edges, 

 closely imbricated, and spreading. Grain loosely enclosed in the very 

 concave glume and much smaller flat palea. 



A small genus widely spread over the temperate regions of the 

 northern hemisphere, and as weeds into the tropics and the southern 

 hemisphere. 



tereunial. Ligula of the leaves very short 1. B. media. 



Annual. Ligula of the upper leaves 3 to 6 lines long . . . . 2. B. minor. 



B. maxima, a south European species, with the spikelets above hall 

 an inch long, is frequently cultivated in our flower-gardens, and has 

 been introduced into some Floras as a British plant. 



1. B. media, Linn. (fig. 1234). Common Q. An erect, rather stiff, 

 but very elegant perennial, from near a foot to 1^ feet high, with a 

 tufted or slightly creeping stock. Leaves flat but narrow and few, 

 except at the base of the stem, their ligules very short. Panicle 2 

 to 4 inches long, very loose and spreading. Spikelets hanging from 

 the long, slender branches, at first orbicular, then ovate, 2 to 3 lines 

 long, variegated with green and purple, containing about 6 or 8 flowers. 

 Glumes all nearly similar, the outer pair empty, the upper ones gradually 

 smaller. 



In meadows and pastures, throughout Europe and Russian Asia, 

 except the extreme north. Common in the greater part of Britain, but 

 becoming scarce in the north of Scotland. Fl. early summer. 



2. B. minor, Linn. (fig. 1235). Lesser Q. An erect annual, from 2 

 or 3 inches to near a foot high, with shorter and broader leaves than 

 . media, and much longer ligules. Panicle like that of B. media, 

 but more branched and still more slender, the spikelets more numeroug, 



