Mr. Woods on the Genera of European Grasses. 25 



of which the two lowermost, and very rarely a third, are fertile ; one is, I 

 believe, always neuter, and sometimes a second. 



There is no other genus in the European Flora which can be associated 

 with this tribe, for Cynodon, though resembling Digitaria in habit, wants the 

 trace of an abortive exterior floret. It is true that in the one-glumed species 

 of Digitaria it might be difficult to determine that the second valve was any- 

 thing but a superior glume, but the rudiment of a superior floret in Cynodon 

 will assist our judgement at least in rejecting that genus from the present 



tribe. 



Orvze^. 



It would hardly be allowable to draw up any character of this tribe from 

 the only two European species which it contains. These agree in having the 

 spiculae scattered in a loose equal panicle, each of one perfect floret, without 

 any additional rudiment either internal or external. The glumes are small 

 and distant, or wholly wanting. The paleae are of equal length, nearly val- 

 vular, membrano-herbaceous, the outer deeply concave and boat-shaped. 

 The foreign genera assigned to this tribe by Kunth have florets of different 

 sorts, or at least an evident, though, perhaps, very imperfect rudiment, but 

 none have more than one perfect floret in the spicula. I have only to notice, 



1. Leersia. Glumes 0. Outer palea ribbed. Stamens 3. 



2. Oryza. Glumes 2, not precisely opposite. Outer palea ribbed and grained 



as if woven. Stamens 6. 



The small and apparently inefficient glumes distinguish this tribe from our 

 other single-flowered Grasses. Coleanthus, indeed, has no glumes, and pro- 

 bably on that account has been placed in this tribe by Reichenbach ; but the 

 paleae of unequal length, one embracing the other, and the small size and 

 delicate appearance announce a greater affinity with the Agrostideoe. The 

 glumes are wanting also in Lygeum and Nardus, but neither of these plants 

 approach in other respects to the Oryzece. 



Phalaride^. 



i only admit into this tribe such plants as show a tendency to produce one 

 or two external imperfect florets, and no indication of a superior one ; the 



VOL. XVIII. B 



