VEGETATION OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES 57 



1. Two large scales, at the bottom of the spikelet ; these are 

 the glumes, situated one just above the other. The tip of the 

 glume may be extended into a stiff, long, bristle-like structure, 

 called the awn. 



2. Three flowers, each in the angle of a pair of minute scales, 

 called pales. 



3. Each flower consists of three stamens and an ovary with 

 two plume-like stigmas. 



In June, when the Grasses are ripe, the anthers may be seen 

 almost covering the spikelets, and swaying with each breath of 

 wind ; for the flowers are wind-pollinated. It has been observed 

 that they have as a rule definite hours for opening : some begin 

 as early as four or five in the morning ; the majority about six 

 or seven ; Seashore and Moor Grasses 

 between twelve and one, and some few 

 species not until afternoon. 



As many as twenty or thirty species of 

 Grasses may be found in a meadow. Those 

 most commonly sown for hay are : the Rye 

 and Oat, the Cock's-foot, the Foxtail, the 

 Sheep's and Meadow Fescue, the Sweet FIG. 20. Flower of a Grass : 

 Vernal, and the Meadow Grass. Of the ^ outer glumes ;?-, inner 



^ , T , . \ , i glumes ; s, stamens ; sf. 



Rye Grasses (genus Lolmm), the one most stigmus. 



commonly planted in meadows is the 



Italian Rye Grass. The genus may be identified by the red 



colour of the sheath and the arrangements of the spikelets. 



They are opposite each other, and each has only one, not two, 



glumes. 



The Cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata) is easy to recognise, for 

 the spikelets are crowded together, and the inflorescence in shape 

 is not unlike a cock's foot. The leaves are bluish-green in colour. 

 It is a perennial, and forms dense tufts. It is a valuable grass 

 for a meadow, because after it is mown and made into hay it 

 grows again rapidly, and gives an abundant second growth, or 

 aftermath. The Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) has a brown, or 

 black, sheath. It is one of the earliest grasses to flower ; the spike 

 has much the appearance of a round tail ending in a point, and 

 is soft to the touch ; it flowers from the middle of April to June. 



