8o 



THE GENERA AND THEIR SPECIES. 



Sheaths stiff and elastic ; ligule 

 lanceolate and pointed. Panicle 

 compact, not spreading in bloom, 

 erect, long ; branches rough, slen- 

 der. Spikelets few, large, oval, 

 upper ones nearly sessile, florets 

 from three to six. Glumes un- 

 equal, outer the smaller, acute, 

 three - ribbed, keeled, purple at 

 base. Outer palea acute, rough on 

 keel, hairy at base, cleft at apex, a 

 long awn rising from centre of keel, 

 stout and twisted below, then stiff 



and rough above, purplish and tipped with white ; inner palea 



lightly fringed. 



Avena pratensis. 

 Spikelet. For Floret see p. 49. 



Varieties — 



A . pubescens Leaves and sheaths downy ; leaf -shoot flat. 

 A . planiculavis Stems and sheaths flattened. 



43. A. flavescens. Meadows and pastures, mainly in lime- 

 stone districts, throughout Europe and Temperate Asia. June and 

 July. Root perennial, creeping, somewhat stoloniferous, loosely 

 tufted. Stem erect, curved at base, leafy, smooth ; nodes downy. 

 Leaves rolled in bud, linear, flat, flaccid, with twenty or more ribs, 

 low and acute, a single row of hairs along each rib, pale green. 

 Lower sheaths hairy, upper sheaths nearly smooth, no keel ; 

 ligule truncate, short, conspicuous, hairy on back. Panicle 

 spreading when in bloom, much branched. Spikelets numerous, 

 erect, small, florets three or four, golden and glossy. Rachilla 

 with long, white hairs. Glumes unequal, acute, keeled, rough, 

 larger with three ribs, smaller with one rib. Outer palea hairy at 

 base, bifid and awned at apex, with five ribs, a short, slender, 

 bent and twisted awn rising from centre of back ; inner palea 

 short, notched, narrow, edges inflexed. 



The yellow oat is not without agricultural value for sheep and 

 cattle. It does well on dry soils that are not too tenacious, marls 

 and chalky pastures being the best. The first crop is poor, but 



