AVENA. 179 



long as the largest outer glume, and terminates in two 

 short bristles ; the awn is long, jointed and stout, it is 

 rougher than in the normal species. Altogether this 

 variety considerably resembles the cultivated oat, and is 

 by many botanists regarded as a distinct species. Sir 

 J. E. Smith considers it a foreign oat introduced acci- 

 dentally with A. sativa. It is not uncommon in Scot- 

 land ; Dr. Parnell has had it from Inverness, Aberdeen, 

 Forfar, and Perth. In England it is found in Durham, 

 Yorkshire, Denbighshire, Nottinghamshire, Anglesea, 

 Sussex, and Cornwall. Abroad it is distributed through 

 central Europe. 



A.fatua in its normal form is found more freely in 

 England and Ireland than in Scotland. Its foreign 

 homes are Lapland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, 

 Italy, Asia, and North Africa. 



It flowers in July and seeds in August. 



2. Avena pratensis, Linn. Perennial Oat. 



(Trisetum, Parnell.) 



Eoot perennial, fibrous ; stems many, one foot or a foot 

 and a half high, erect, simple, with two or three joints near 

 the base, above naked, striated, roughish ; leaves of stem 

 broadish, ribbed, radical ones linear, acute, rigid, incurved, 

 smooth on both sides ; sheaths long, ribbed, smooth ; the 

 uppermost longest, and somewhat rough ; ligule lanceolate, 

 acute ; panicle simple, erect, spike-like, long, compact ; 

 rachis and branches rough ; spikelets large, oval, containing 

 four or five florets, the upper spikelets nearly sessile, the 

 lower ones on stalks ; outer glumes somewhat unequal, 

 acute, three-nerved, slightly keeled, tinged with purple in 

 the lower part; flowering glume acute, often with two 



n 2 



