﻿GRASSES OF SCOTLAND. 49 



or pinkish tinge. Panicle erect, usually somewhat of a triangular 

 form ; spreading, (in the young state close), the branches hairy, aris- 

 ing from the rachis alternately in pairs of unequal lengths. Spikelets 

 pendulous, with hairy peduncles ; of two florets, the upper one awned. 

 Calyx of two hairy membranous glumes (Fig. 1), of equal height, 

 the upper glume the larger, of an oblong form, tipped with a minute 

 bristle, hairy on the keel and upper part of the inner margins, fur- 

 nished with a green rib on each side ; lower glume somewhat crescent- 

 shaped, hairy on the keel and upper part of the inner margins, with- 

 out lateral ribs. Florets of two palese (Fig 2) ; the outer palea of 

 lowermost floret of an oval form, about half the length of the calyx, 

 obscurely five-ribbed, obtuse at the summit, hairy at the base, with 

 a long naked footstalk. Inner palea about equal in length to the 

 outer palea, membranous, obtuse, with the margins delicately fringed. 

 Upper floret smaller than the lower one, elevated on a long naked 

 footstalk ; furnished with a dorsal awn about half the length of the 

 palea, arising from a little beneath the summit, and when ripe, curv- 

 ed in the form of a fish hook, becoming concealed within the calyx ; 

 sometimes the awn, during the early stage, projects conspicuously be- 

 yond the calyx, its summit is slightly roughish, but the two lower thirds 

 are perfectly smooth. 



Obs. — Holcus lanatus is distinguished from Holcus mollis in many 

 respects, which are best seen by comparing the descriptions ; but the 

 most simple and constant character is derived from the awn of the up- 

 permost floret, which, in H. lanatus, is roughish at the summit, with 

 the two lower thirds perfectly smooth, while in H. mollis it is minutely 

 toothed throughout its whole length, which can be readily seen by the 

 assistance of a lens, (See Plate XXI. Fig. 2.). The unprotruded 

 curved awn in H. lanatus is considered a good specific distinction by 

 most authors, but in the flowering stage of the plant the awn is not 

 curved, and protrudes slightly beyond the calyx, as in H. mollis, and 

 becomes curved only as the seeds approach to maturity. 



The only advantages that this grass possesses are in its being 

 productive and easy of cultivation. It has no merits either for 

 pasture or hay, as cattle of every kind seem to dislike it, especially 

 horses. It is a very common grass on shady banks; in woods and 



