66 THE GENERA AND THEIR SPECIES. 



elliptical in two opposite rows ; florets four or more. Glumes 

 pointed or slightly awned, edges next to rachis, ribs five or more* 

 Outer palea shorter than glumes, ribs fewer and not so pro- 

 minent, smooth, generally pointed, occasionally awned ; inner 

 palea awnless, with two green marginal ribs. 



Varieties — 

 A. barbatum. Glumes awlshaped or awned, paleae long 



awned. 

 A, obtusum. Glumes obtuse ; paleae obtuse and pointed. 

 A. pungens. Rachis nearly smooth; leaves involute J 



ribs rough ; stem erect. 

 A . acutum. Rachis nearly smooth, leaves involute ; ribs 



rough; stem prostrate, 

 A . junceum. Glume with nine or more slender ribs, thickly 

 haired above, spikes articulate, spikelets 

 obtuse and awnless. Leaves involute. 

 This is a common species, too common in cultivated soil 

 owing to its extensively spreading roots. It is eaten by cats and 

 dogs as an emetic, is much liked by pigs, and, in famines, its 

 flour has been made into bread. Left to itself it is about a foot 

 high, but it will clamber up in a hedge until it reaches three 

 feet or perhaps more, where it can generally be recognised by its 

 habit of turning its leaves to one side. In poor pastures, when 

 young, it is not a bad fodder grass, and its variety, A. junceum, 

 is of some use as a sandbinder, but it is by no means popular 

 amongst farmers, owing to the trouble given by its runners. 



57. A. caninum. An inhabitant of damp, shady woods in 

 the Northern Hemisphere. June and July. Root perennial, not 

 creeping, fibres downy and stout. Stems tufted, slender, striated, 

 smooth, leafy ; nodes numerous. Leaves auricled, tapering, 

 thin, flat, rough on both sides, occasionally glabrous, almost 

 upright. Sheaths shorter than leaves, lower sheaths hairy ; 

 ligule very small. Spike close, seldom quite erect ; rachis angular 

 and bristly. Spikelets in two rows, oval, alternate above, fre- 

 quently in pairs below, florets five or fewer. Glumes, edges next 

 to rachis, nearly equal, thin, hairy, ribs three, awned. Outer 



