BROMUS. 237 



It is found not unfrequently on gravelly soil through- 

 out the British Isles. It is indigenous in Norway, Swe- 

 den, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland, North 

 Africa, and North America. 



It flowers a little later than B. mollis, but is not more 

 valuable in an agricultural point of view. 



B. racemosus, var. subsecalinus, Smooth Oval Brome- 

 grass, is a variety with shorter and broader spikelets, 

 externally resembling B. secalinus, but distinguished by 

 the difference in the length of the larger outer glumes. 

 The other characteristics are the same as in the normal 

 form of B. racemosus. 



11. Bromus squarrosus, Linn. Corn Brome-grass. 



Root annual, fibrous ; stems a foot high, simple, smooth, 

 ribbed, leafy, glossy ; joints four, the upper ones covered by 

 the sheaths; leaves linear-lanceolate, flat, covered with a 

 very short, deflexed down ; sheaths covered with the same 

 down as the leaves, soft, except the uppermost one, the hairs 

 of which are stiffer ; ligule notched ; panicle of few spike- 

 lets, nodding to one side ; rachis rough, branches simple, 

 compressed, thickening upwards, rough ; spikelets very 

 large, oval, inflated, closely overlapping, containing about 

 ten florets ; outer glumes unequal, awnless, outer one 

 smaller and three-nerved ; inner one five-nerved ; flowering 

 glumes larger than the largest outer one, with nine nerves, 

 and three teeth at the apex, membranaceous and glossy at 

 the margin, awned; awns awl-shaped, rugged, as long as 

 the glume ; palea short, thin, white, blunt, with green 

 ribbed edges, and white hairs on the margin ; seed adhering 

 to the flowering glume and palea, elliptic, downy at the 

 apex. 



This species is a very doubtful native. Its spikelets 

 are often tinged with reddish-brown, and Dr. Parnell 



