Mr. ^^'ooDS (»1 the Genera nf European (jrasse.s. 47 



7. Hordeuvi. Spiciihe in tlii-ees^ l-flo\vered, with the stalk-like riuiiiiK'iit of 

 a second floret towards the common racliis. 



The species of Brachypodium have been alternately united with Bronia.s and 

 Fesfiica. Kunth joins them to Trlticum, and I confess I find more ditlicnitv 

 in draM'ing up u character which shall distinguish them from that genus than 

 from either of the others. The spiculoe are not more stalked than they are 

 in the division 3I/cropi/rnni, nor perhaps than in Tr'iticum eaninnm ; and in 

 T. Nardus the glumes are nearly as unequal as in Bracliypodlnin. 



"Spicula.' rachi contrariée," "Calyx racheos scrobiculee parallelus," ". Spi- 

 cule rachi parallelse," are the terms used hy dillerent botanists to express the 

 peculiar position of the spicuke of Lolium. Smith's calyx of one valve oppo- 

 site to the rachis is less obscure, but seems hardly sufficient to indicate tlie 

 position of the spicula itself. 



Triticum, as it stands now, is a difficult genus to characterise. Smith says, 

 " Calyx of two transverse opposite valves, solitary, many-tlowered :" this would 

 certainly include Brac/ii/pod/ian, and was probably intended to comprehend 

 T. loVuieeuni and T. marit'unum. There is nothing also to exclude sevei'al 

 other plants whose flowers are sessile on a one-sided or two-sided rachis. The 

 Avord transverse is probably introduced to distinguish it from Lolium, but does 

 not well explain the position of the spicnlte. In the longer description of the 

 genus he says, " spikelets latercal, contrary to the main stalk." Kunth, on the 

 other hand, says, " spiculoe rachi communi parallelœ." Smith adds, that the 

 outer palea is keeled or furrowed ; but this is not true of T. durum, nor can it 

 be well said of T. repens, where neither keel nor furrow is carried down to the 

 base, nor are there either keels or furrows to the division Mici-opi/runi. He 

 assigns to it a loose seed, but the seed is said to be attached in T. Spelta, 

 T. monococcum, T. dicnceuni, antl I tind it to be so also in T. Poa. In 

 T. N^urdus the valves are unequal ; and without the character of equal valves, 

 which obtains through most of the genus, we seem to have no distinction 

 from Brachijpodium. The habit would make me wish to keep distinct the 

 four genera Brachypod'mm, ^Igrnpi/rum, 3Iicropi/rum, and Tritieum ; but I 

 have laboured in vain to find characters on which they might be divided. 

 The seed is crested in the cultivated wheats, but not, I believe, in any species 

 of tlie divisions Jgropyruin and IMlcmpi/rum. 



