﻿GRASSES OF SCOTLAND. 115 



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

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

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

 sheath crowned with an obtuse ragged ligule ; the lower sheaths soft 

 and hairy, the hairs pointing downwards. Joints five, slightly pu- 

 bescent. Leaves flat, soft, sharp- pointed, more downy on the upper 

 than on the under surface, the points and margins rough to the 

 touch. Inflorescence simple panicled, occasionally racemed. Panicle 

 at first erect, at length drooping, its branches and upper part of the 

 rachis rough ; the lower branches arising from the rachis mostly in 

 threes. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, at length more ovate ; glossy, 

 frequently tinged with brownish-purple ; usually of ten awned florets, 

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

 summit of the second floret of the same side. Calyx of two nearly 

 equal broad acute glumes (Fig. 1), membranous at the margins, 

 roughish to the touch, toothed on the upper half of the keels ; inner 

 glume seven-ribbed ; outer glume, which is the smallest, three-ribbed. 

 Florets of two palese (Fig. 2), the outer palea of lowermost floret 

 oval, rather longer than the glumes, glossy, roughish to the touch, 

 seven-ribbed, the dorsal rib minutely toothed on the upper part, and 

 terminating in a rough awn ; membranous at the margins, and 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, arising from a little below the bifid 

 membranous apex of the outer palea, and equal in length to the 

 small glume. Scales of the nectary entire. Ovarium obtuse, hairy 

 on the upper part. Styles distinct, arising from the side of the ovarium. 

 Stigmas feathery. 



Obs. — Bromus arvensis is distinguished from Bromns secalinus, in the 

 spikelets being longer and more linear. Outer palea not so obtuse ; 

 twice the width of the palea exactly equals its length, (Fig. 4) ; — 

 whereas in B. secalinus the outer palea is very obtuse and broad ; 

 twice the width of the palea more than equals the length by one- third, 

 (Fig. 4.) 



From Bromus racemosus and Bromus mollis, in the apex of thg large 

 glume being half-way between its base and the summit of the second 



