CLASS III. ORDER III. 29 



A simple, slender grass, two or three feet high. Flowers few, 

 remote, long-awned. — On the sides of Wachuset Hill — June. 



DIGYNIA. 



30. ANTHOXANTHUM. 

 Anthoxanthum odoratum. L. Sweet scented Vernal 



grass. 



Spike ovate-oblong; flowers longer than their awns, 

 standing on short stalks. 



Stem about a foot high. Leaves short, flat ; sheaths some- 

 what swelling ; stipule lanceolate, scarious. Spike terminal, 

 solitary ; calyx glumes unequal, rough on the back ; corolla 

 shorter than the calyx, awned on the back. 



This grass, when partly faded, is exceedingly fragrant, whence 

 its name. It grows on farms, where it was formerly introduced 

 from Europe. — May, June. — Perennial. 



31. PHLEUM. 

 Phleum pratense. L. Herds grass or CaVs tail grass. 



Spike cylindrical, very long ; glumes fringed at 

 the hack, longer than the awns. Sm. 



Culm upright, round, smooth. Leaves flat, pointed, rough on 

 the upper side ; sheaths long, striated ; stipules blunt. Spike 

 long, cylindrical, upright. Calyx of two glumes fringed with 

 hairs on the back, square or truncated at the end, with two short 

 awns. — June, July. — Perennial. 



This grass is extensively cultivated, forming a chief constitu- 

 ent of what is with us called English hay. It is usually denom- 

 inated herds grass, and sometimes improperly /oo? tail grass. In 

 England it is known by the name of cat''s tail, and Timothy 

 grass, the last burlesque appellation derived from Mr. Timothy 

 Hanson, one of its early propagators. It is said to have fallen 

 there into disrepute, although its reputation is good in this coun- 

 try. Professor Martyn and Mr. Curtis speak of it as a harsh, 

 coarse grass, in all respects inferior to the true fox tail grass, 

 (Alopecurus pratensis.) 



3* 



