8 ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS. 



in colour. Styles joined tog-ether. Stigmas divided, slender, and 

 downy. Seed ovate. Stem erect, circular, polished, and striated, 

 carrying four or five leaves, with smooth inflated sheaths. Joints 

 smooth. Leaves flat, acute, both surfaces usually rough. Inflorescence 

 compound, branched. Panicle upright, from one to two inches long; 

 cylindrical-oblong, compact, with short branches placed all round the 

 rachis. Length varying from one to three feet, according to circum- 

 stances. Root perennial and fibrous. 



Flowers through April, May, and June, and ripens its seed in July 

 and August. 



Dr. Parnell gives the following distinctions in his " Grasses of Scot- 

 land/' from other species in the same genus: 



"1st. From A. geniculatus in upper leaf being only half the length 

 of its sheath; awn extending more than half its length beyond the 

 palea; palea conical, with four distinct broad green ribs; glumes more 

 acute, and of a different shape, whereas in A. geniculatus the upper 

 leaf is nearly the same length as its shield; palea obtuse, with four 

 indistinct green ribs, tinged at apex with purple. 



2nd. From A. fulvus in the awn of A. fulvus not extending beyond 

 the palea. 



3rd. From A. agrestis in the stems and sheaths being smooth, in 

 A. agrestis they are rough. 



4th. From A. alpinus in the panicle being longer; in A. alpinus it 

 is not an inch long; also differs in the position of the awn." 



My thanks are due to Dr. Wilson, of Nottingham, and to Mr. Joseph 

 Sidebotham, of Manchester, for the illustrated specimens. 



