154 



BRITISH GRASSES. 



like, pointed ; ovary ovate ; 

 notched at both ends. 



filaments slender ; anthers 



This is a delicate and pretty ornament of our southern 

 heath-lands, very attractive when the panicle is spread, 



but little remarkable in its 

 usual contracted state. Its 

 dense tufts of bristly leaves 

 would make it valuable as a 

 permanent lawn-grass, but 

 for agricultural purposes it 

 would have no recommen- 

 dation except as food for 

 sheep ; those feeding on 

 Dartmoor show great pre- 

 ference for it,|and the ex- 

 cellence of the mutton is a 

 good testimonial to its whole- 

 someness. 



It is distinguished from 

 A. vulgaris by the rough- 

 ness of the stems and sheaths, and the minuteness of the 

 palea. It varies from A. alba in the long awn situated 

 on the back of the flowering glume and the smallness of 

 the palea. The roughness of the stem and leaves also 

 distinguishes it from A. canina. 



In western Europe it prevails extensively, being fre- 

 quent in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, 

 Portugal, Turkey, and Greece. 



It flowers in July and August, and the seed ripens in 

 September. 



