﻿GRASSES OF SCOTLAND. 113 



land ; also a native of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, 

 Switzerland, Italy, North Africa, and North America. Its limit of 

 altitude seems to be about 1000 feet above the sea. 



Flowers in the first week of June, and ripens its seed about the 

 end of the same month. 



75. Bromus secalinus.* 

 Smooth Rye Brome- Grass. 



Specific Characters. — Large glume seven-ribbed. Panicle slightly 

 drooping. Spikelets ovate, showing the rachis when in seed. (Plate 

 XLIX.) 



Description. — It grows from eighteen inches to two feet high. 

 The root is annual, fibrous. Stem erect, smooth, round, and striated, 

 bearing four or five leaves with striated sheaths ; the upper sheath 

 crowned with an obtuse ragged membranous ligule ; the lower sheaths 

 soft and hairy, the hairs pointing downwards. Joints five, slightly 

 hairy. Leaves flat, soft, linear, sharp-pointed, more downy on the 

 upper than on the under surface ; the points and margin rough to 

 the touch ; furnished with a few long scattered hairs mostly on the 

 margins towards the base. Inflorescence racemed or simple panicled. 

 Panicle mostly erect ; when in seed slightly drooping ; its branches 

 rough, the lower ones arising from the rachis mostly in threes. 

 Spikelets ovate, polished, of a yellowish-green tinge, showing the rachis 

 when advanced in seed ; usually of seven awned florets; the summit 

 of the large glume being midway between its base and the summit of the 

 second floret, (Fig. 3). Calyx of two broad nearly equal acute glumes 

 (Fig. 1), roughish to the touch, membranous at the margins, toothed 

 on the upper half of the keel; inner glume seven-ribbed ; outer glume, 

 which is the smaller, three-ribbed. Florets of two paleae (Fig. 2), 

 the outer palea of lowermost floret oval, rather longer than the 

 glumes, glossy, roughish to the touch, (not hairy), seven-ribbed, the 

 dorsal rib minutely toothed on the upper part, and terminating in a 

 rough awn, which is about the length of the palea ; membranous at 

 the margins and mostly bifid at the summit. Inner palea linear- 

 oblong, very little shorter than the outer palea, furnished with two 

 green marginal ribs fringed with white hairs. Awn slightly wavy, 



* Bromus secalinus, Smith, Hooker, Koch, Lindley. 

 H 



