240 BRITISH GEASSES. 



a creeping habit, its stems grow from one to two feet 

 high, the stem-leaves are lanceolate and finely striated, 

 the radical ones are very narrow, the panicle is erect and 

 branched, larger than that of F. ovina, the spikelets are 

 larger, and contain seven florets ; the outer glumes are 

 lanceolate and unequal, the flowering glume, awn, and 

 palea are like those of ovina, but the stem is quite 

 smooth, even beneath the panicle, and the upper leaf is 

 smooth on the outer surface. Recommended by Messrs. 

 Wheeler for nearly every kind of meadow land. 



Soil and situation take great effect on these Fescue 

 grasses, and modify their characteristics so as to give 

 rise to numerous varieties. Dr. Parnell treats of the 

 F. duriuscula as a distinct species, and he considers it 

 liable to the following varieties: — 



F. duriuscula, var. hirsuta, more decidedly creeping 

 in habit, and with the flowering glume covered with 

 hairs. 



F. duriuscula, var. filiformis, very slender in its habit 

 of growth, tall, and the upper part of the panicle droop- 

 ing gracefully, flowering glume with a slender awn half 

 the length of itself, the stem-leaves long and narrow, 

 the stem branched near the root. 



F. duriuscula, var. arenaria, of smaller size, short, 

 and compact in every part, root widely creeping, foliage 

 scanty and soon withering ; a native of the seacoast or 

 sandy places. 



F. duriuscula, var. humilis, another slender variety, 

 distinguished by the extreme narrowness of its panicle, 

 and the smoothness of the outer surface of the leaves, 

 whilst the sheaths are hairy, the stem is smooth, with 

 one or two joints far from each other. This is an alpine 

 form. 



