BRACHTPODIUM. 



219 



flowering glumes awned from the summit; awn rough, 

 generally much longer than the glume ; palea short, obtuse 

 at the summit, and fringed with a few hairs on the edges. 



The slender False Brome merely consists of stem, 

 leaves, and spike, and so it might have no greater claim 

 to beauty than the Wheat- 

 grasses or the Rye-grass, yet 

 none can refuse it a title to 

 the term graceful. Its taper- 

 ing stem, lax drooping leaves, 

 and bending spike, give it an 

 attractive character, besides 

 which the looseness of the 

 spike, and the distance of 

 the long tapering spikelets 

 take away all possibility of 

 stiffness from its form. It 

 grows principally in moist 

 alpine woods, and is often to be seen overtopping the 

 low Hawthorn and Sloe bushes, or peering forth from 

 among the changing foliage of the wild Guelder- Hose ; 

 but it does not invariably cling thus for support, but 

 will flourish under the thick shade of interlacing branches, 

 covering the ground beneath them with its foliage, and 

 lifting its spikes unsupported in the shade. It is also 

 found in stony places, in alpine situations, or even near 

 the sea- coast, though it flourishes less luxuriantly in 

 such situations than in its favourite sylvan shade. 



This grass is not accounted of any use in agriculture, 

 because oxen, sheep, and horses refuse to eat it ; but in 

 the winter months deer eat it with relish, and, as it will 

 grow in situations unsuitable for most grasses, and is 

 so hardy that it remains green throughout the winter 



