128 



BRITISH GRASSES. 



purple; joints usually four; leaves linear, rough, acute, 

 rather glaucous, the upper ones short, upper leaves much 

 shorter than the others, the upper sheaths very long 

 and close ; ligules short, abrupt ; panicle about two inches 

 long, dense, a little contracted at each end, cylindrical, 

 glaucous-green with a tinge of purple ; spikelets small, flat- 

 tened, crowded; outer glumes equal, narrow-lanceolate, 

 tapering and terminating in a sharp point or minute awn, 

 the midrib hairy but not on the lower part ; flowering glume 

 smaller, elliptical, fine-ribbed ; palea entire at margin, ellip- 

 tical, smaller than the flowering glume, with a minute bristle 

 at the base ; ovary hairy above ; filaments long, capillary ; 

 anthers long, purple ; styles rather short, feathery nearly to 

 base ; scales long and narrow. 



This pretty species is rare in our islands, favouring 

 the dry sandy or chalky 

 fields of Norfolk and Cam- 

 bridgeshire almost exclu- 

 sively. The violet colour of 

 the upper part of the culm 

 is very pleasing, and is also 

 a good distinctive feature; 

 it is to be regretted that this 

 is not used as a foundation 

 for the specific name. It 

 is indigenous in Norway, 

 Sweden, France, Germany, 

 Switzerland, Italy, and Rus- 

 sia. As an agricultural 

 grass, it has no desirable 

 qualities. 



It is distinguished from P. pratense by the absence of 

 awns on the outer glumes, and of teeth on the flowering 



