276 BRITISH GRASSES. 



land, Italy, Northern Asia, Iceland, and the United 

 States. 



11. Poa trivialis^ Linn. Roughish Poa. 



Eoot perennial, creeping ; stems roughish when drawn 

 through the hand, a foot and a half high, not throwing out 

 creeping scions at the base, slender; leaves thin, flat, acute, 

 rough on both surfaces, bright green, pliant ; sheaths about 

 the same length as the leaves, striated, rough when rubbed 

 upwards; ligule oblong, pointed; panicle erect, slender, 

 spreading, ample ; branches rough, the lower ones placed 

 in clusters of three or five ; spikelets three-flowered, ovate, 

 compressed ; outer glumes lanceolate, five-ribbed, connected 

 by a web, nearly equal ; flowering glumes five-ribbed, the 

 central rib hairy on the lower half; palea minutely fringed, 

 and with a green rib on the margin. 



The rough stems and sheaths, and the absence of hairs 

 on all but the central rib of the flowering glume, distin- 

 guishes this species from P. pratensis. It is a very 

 valuable grass in agriculture, and is called in Lombardy 

 " La regina delP erbe." The experienced Mr. Boys, of 

 Kent, cultivated it carefully and used to extol its virtues. 

 He declares it to be "an excellent grass on good, sound, 

 moist loams. Good for dry pastures or water meadows, 

 multiplying itself much by seed, and little by the root. 

 Excellent for all sorts of cattle." Mr. Sinclair con- 

 siders it superior to P. pratensis, because preferred by 

 cattle ; its after-math is excellent. It answers best, he 

 says, when combined with other grasses. Mr. Sole pro- 

 nounces it to be " a fine grass for hay as well as for 

 pastures, but inferior to P. pratensis." " It delights," 

 he says, " in moisture and sheltered situations, on which 



