BROMUS. 231 



Bromus arvensis, var. commutatus. Grows to the 

 same height, is more jointed in the stem, having gene- 

 rally five joints, while the normal form has but four; its 

 panicle is more drooping, the lower branches in clusters 

 of three, the spikelets contain as many as ten florets, 

 and are more narrowed to the point than in the typical 

 arvensis. It is found where the soil is rich, and affords 

 good herbage for sheep and lambs. Dr. Parnell describes 

 it as more frequent than B. arvensis, favouring Scotland 

 and Ireland as well as England, and extending through 

 Italy and Western Asia. 



Bromus arvensis, var. patula, has the panicle much 

 more spread, and the spikelets also broader and heavier ; 

 the flowering glumes are nine-ribbed, and the anthers 

 are much smaller than in the normal form. We cannot 

 claim it as a British native, for it only appears occa- 

 sionally in cornfields and waste places, where the seed 

 may have been conveyed artificially. It is indigenous 

 in France and Germany. 



Bromus arvensis, var. multiflorus. Many-flowered 

 Field Brome is a handsome variety, with very long spike- 

 lets, broad flowering glumes, and enlarged outer glumes. 



The B. arvensis, and all its varieties, are valuable 

 when cut early among other grasses for hay. They 

 flower from the middle of June to the beginning of July, 

 and seed in the latter month. 



7. Bromus giganteus, Linn. Tall Brome-grass. 



Boot perennial, fibrous ; stems three to four feet high, or 

 even taller, smooth, glossy, striated, leafy; leaves rather 

 erect, pointed, a foot long, broad, flat, ribbed, rough on both 

 surfaces, and at the margins ; sheaths long, striated, quite 



