Poa.^ CVII. GRAMINE-^.* 551 



with a mucro, glumes obtuse nearly equal, upper one reaching 

 to the base of the fourth floret, root fibrous. Parn. Gr. t. 43. 

 Triticum Sm. : tl. B. t. 221. Catapodium Link. Sclerochloa 



Woods, 



Sandy sea-shores of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. North Wales jm^^ 



Isle of Man. East coast of Scotland, and Galloway. 0. 6 7. 



Singularly stiff and wiry, as much so as P. rigida, which it greatly 

 resembles, branching from the very base, 3 — 4 inches hio-h. Leaves 

 linear, rigid, plane. Spikehts more or less distant, secund, lower ones 

 sometimes compound. 



** Spikelets ovate or oblong-ovate. Outer glumella with 3 5 parallel 



nerves, membranaceous below, searioiisat the end, compressed^ keeled 

 pointless. Upper glume S-rihbed, Poa, 



f Root creeping by long scions. 



9. P. compressa L. {flat stemmed M.) ; panicle subsecund 

 spreading (afterwards subcoarctate), spikelets oblong of 5— 7 

 obtuse florets, upper sheath as long as or shorter than its leaf, 

 culm compressed, root creeping.— a. florets connected by a 

 web, outer glumella with 3 silky nerves, and sometimes 2 gla- 

 brous intermediate ones. E. B. t. 365 : Parn. Gr, t. 37. P. 

 subcompressa Parn. Gr. t. 90.— (3. florets not connected by a 

 web, outer glumella 5-nerved. P. polynoda Parn. Gr. tt. 39. 

 91, 92. 



On walls, and in dry barren ground, frequent. 1].. 6, 7. One 



foot or more high, rather glaucous. Culms compressed, procumbent 

 at the base : in a. the uppermost node is about the middle of the 

 stem ; in ^. there are 7 or 8 nodes, of which the second is usually 

 about the middle of the stem, the uppermost a little above it. 

 Leaves short, linear, acute, upper one as long or longer than its 

 sheath. Ligule very short, blunt. Panicle not much branched. 

 Eorets by no means always connected by a Aveb ; in French and 

 Notth American specimens, and in those from this country, there 

 is often not the least trace of it, yet they are not otherw'ise dis- 

 tinguishable. In a, there are usually only three nerves to the outer 

 glumella, all of them silky; but an intermediate pair may occasionally 

 be detected, and this constitutes P. subcompressa Parn. In jS. we 

 have always observed 5 nerves, of which sometimes the two lateral 

 ones and the midrib are silky, sometimes only the former, sometimes 

 all are naked. 



10. P. pratensis L (smoothed-stalked M.) ; panicle diffuse, 

 spikelets oblong-ovate of about 4 florets which are acute 5- 

 nerved webbed, marginal nerves and keel of the outer glumella 

 silky, culm and sheath smooth, upper sheath much longer than 

 Its leaf, ligule short, root creeping. Parn. Gr. tt. 31, 32, 33, 34. 



a. culm tall, leaves broad. £*. ^. t. 1073.— /3. leaves nar- 

 ^w. P. angustifolia L.—y. subccerulea; smaller and glaucous. 

 r. subc^rulea E. B. t. 1004. 



