224 



BRITISH GRASSES. 



nearly of equal breadth, the radical ones slightly broadest ; 

 sheaths rough, with deflexed hairs ; panicle simple, droop- 

 ing, branched ; rachis and branches very rough, branches in 

 pairs ; spikelets lanceolate, almost cylindrical, an inch long, 

 tinted with purple, containing about nine florets; outer 

 glumes very unequal, acute, the upper the longest, three- 

 ribbed ; dorsal rib toothed nearly its whole length ; flower- 

 ing glumes longer than outer ones, nearly cylindrical, gla- 

 brous, or slightly hairy, bifid at the summit, a long awn 

 arising from a little below the apex ; palea closely fringed 

 on the keel, its membranaceous edges bent in. 



This lordly grass is a frequent denizen of our thickets 

 and hedgerows, especially in rather moist situations. 



The tall stature, large pa- 

 nicle bending gracefully, 

 and long branches drooping 

 slightly in flower, and arch- 

 ing more and more as the 

 ripening seed adds weight to 

 the long spikelets ; its rib- 

 bon-like leaves, the highest 

 standing almost erect, its 

 apex not seldom overtopping 

 the panicle, and the lower 

 ones arching and bending 

 with varied grace, and the 

 beautiful form is complete. 

 It is impossible even in the 

 greenhouse or stovehouse to 

 find a more graceful adjunct 

 to a drawing-room bouquet 

 than this grass, and its effect is perfect among gay flowers. 

 The faint purple tinge often cast upon the spikelets does 



