i 



CVII. GRAMINEJE,. 521 



Banks of rivers and ditches, common. If.. 5, 6. — Stem 2 — 3 ft. 

 high, with rough angles. Leaves very broad, keeled, rough. Fruit 

 compressed; the beak sometimes entire at the point, according to 

 Kunth. Stigmas occasionally only 2, and acJiene lenticular: BootL 

 Fertile glumes ** commonly tipped with a brown rough point or awn." 

 Sm. Specimens which we collected (July 1854) in a brackish marsh 

 half way between Largs and Wemyss Bay, in Ayrshire, have 

 usually only 2 stigmas and a linear oblong achene : these Mr, 

 Babington is inclined to refer to C. prolixa of Fries, but Dr. Boott 

 considers them as certainly belonging to C paludosa; the sterile 

 glumes are apparently cuspidate from their being much corroded, but 

 when entire are quite obtuse ; the fruit does not seem to ripen. 



66. C. riparia Curt, {great common C) ; barren spikelets 

 3—5 approximate with acuminate glumes, anthers tipped with 

 a short awn, fertile spikelets 3—4 broadly cylindrical acute 

 sessile or the lower ones stalked, sheaths none, bracteas very 

 long foliaceous, glumes oblong pointed, fruit oblong-ovate with 

 a short deeply bifid beak. E, B. t. 579. 



Sides of ditches and rivers, common. 2/.. 5 Larger than the 



last, with much broader leaves and spikelets. Fruit convex on the 

 back, sometimes on both sides. Well distinguished from C. paludosa 

 by the acuminate glumes of the sterile spikelets and the conspi- 

 cuously mucronate anthers: we are indebted to Dr. Bromfield for 

 pointing out this last character (Phyt. iii. p. 146.). 



Okd. CVII. GR AMINES 1 Juss. 



(See Tabs. VI.— IX.) 



1 



Florets _ usually perfect, sometimes imperfect, sometimes 

 neuter (without either stamens or pistil), solitary, or 2 or more 



1 Here we have a structure in the flower, and a habit in the whole plant so dif- 

 lerenttrom those ot other flowering-plants, that, in the former especially, peculiar 

 names have been given to its different parts, which it may be desirable to explain, 

 ine floral coveruigs, as they are termed, are ghxmaceoiis or chaffy. The outer of 

 incise which do noc immediately contain stamens or pistil, and are composed of one 

 isee lab. 8. f. 36. a.) or two (Tab. 6. f. 3. a.) pieces, were called by Linn^us 

 ine ca/7jj:; the pieces are the glumes or valves, and they resemble a calyx in the 

 iwo-valved, smgie-flowered genera, but often they include many flowers (Tab. 7. 

 I. 2d. fl.), and with justice are considered bracteas or leaves of an involucre: in 

 iemia and Aardus they are wanting. The inner generally of a thinner texture, 

 rr^h r f r"T^ ?^*^ Smith named corolla; its pieces, one (Tab. 6. f. 3. b.) or two 

 (lab. b. i, 0, b.) in number, glumes or valves : these constitute the irwe perianth of 

 ^rownand are called pa/e^ by Beauv. and Kunth, va/rM/^ by Brown, Trinius,and 

 i^senDeck, an^glumelU by Link ; which last we adoptas having a special reference 

 to tms order. Withm this, and at the base of the germen, are generally 2 collateral, 

 rarely 1, small scales (Tab. 9. ^^ ^%^ a.), nectary of Linn, and Sm., lodiculce of 

 ^eauy. and rc\o%t oxher^^ ^xiA squamulce hypogyncB of Brown. — In this order few 

 Docamsts are yet agreed what ought to constuute a genus, and therefore we have 

 r^^^ .^ ^^*"y/^w exceptions, either subdivided the genera, or changed the 

 nomenclature adopted in previous editions; indeed, m a local Flora we do not 



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