9 6 



THE GENERA AND THEIR SPECIES. 



rigid, concave, base auricled, point rolled and spiny, ribs 

 prominent, uniform and flat, glaucous above. Sheaths long, 

 loose, furrowed, smooth ; ligule small, short, truncate, toothed. 

 Spike erect, close, glaucous ; rachis not winged. Spikelets in 

 pairs, florets three or four, uppermost male, placed in alternate 

 notches. Glumes nearly equal, narrow, lanceolate, downy, stiff, 

 pointed, ribs three ; outer and inner glume on the same side of 

 the spikelet. Outer palea mucronate, shorter than glumes, 



broad, velvety, ribs five ; inner 

 palea bifid, with two green mar- 

 ginal ribs. Anthers with a deeper 

 notch at the base than at the apex. 

 Grain adherent. 



This well-known sand-binder 

 of solitary growth is fairly common 

 on our shores, where it is used for 

 the same purposes as the Marram. 

 Its rigid stems and leaves hold 

 the sand as it blows, and thus 

 are buried in it for some little 

 depth, and the interlacing fibres 

 of its extensive roots rapidly 

 convert a shifting dune into a barrier that defies the further 

 advance of the sea. In Holland it is carefully cultivated, though 

 once it establishes itself it is hardy enough and fairly prolific. 

 Sinclair called it " the sugar-cane of Britain," owing to the 

 saccharine matter it produces, which amounts to more than a 

 third of its weight, mainly in its stems. 



Elymus arenarius. 

 Spikelet. For Floret see p. 61. 



Festuca. Plates xxii. and xxiii. FESTUCEM. 



69. ovina 15 in. Sheep's Fescue. Inner glume three- 



ribbed ; awns absent or shorter than 

 glumes ; leaves awl-shaped. 



70. elatior 60 in. Meadow Fescue. Inner glume three- 



ribbed ; awns absent or shorter than 

 glumes ; leaves flat, sheath smooth. 



