THE GENERA AND THEIR SPECIES. in 



Edinburgh, and is frequently considered to be a distinct species. 

 It also matures quickly, gives plenty of herbage, is eaten greedily 

 b} r cattle, lasts in full vigour for two seasons, has been known on 

 rich land to yield three crops in a year, and is very profitable under 

 irrigation, in short a more profitable grass than our native species. 



59. L. temiilentuni. Pastures and fields of Europe and Central 

 Asia. June and July. Root annual, fibres few, barren shoots 

 none. Stem round, smooth and glossy below, rough upwards ; 

 nodes four. Leaves lanceolate, spreading, prominently ribbed, 

 rough above, light green. Sheaths round, ribbed, rather rough ; 

 ligule short and notched. Spike large, erect ; rachis rough, 

 angular, notched. Spikelets erect edgeways in the notches, 

 florets four or more. Outer glume rising above the spikelct ; 

 inner glume rudimentary or absent. Outer palea ovate, tumid, 

 ribbed, whitish, erect, awn as long or longer than palea ; inner 

 palea rough at the folds. 



Darnel cannot stand frost. It is always found in cultivated 

 fields but not in those in which the seed is sown by drills. Hence 

 it is becoming rarer, and probably was never native but sown 

 with the seed of the crop. It is said to be our only poisonous 

 grass, the seed and not the herbage doing the damage. Like that 

 of L. remotum the grain contains loliin, a narcotic soluble in 

 ether, causing eruptions, trembling and sight trouble in man and 

 certain animals, particularly rabbits, but not affecting pigs and 

 horned cattle, nor ducks nor probably other birds if experiments 

 could be made on them 



Melica. Plate xxxii. FESTUCE/E. 



96. nutans 24 in. Mountain Melic. Spikelets drooping ; 



florets three or four, two perfect, one or 

 two imperfect. 



97. uni flora 30 in. Wood Melic. Spikelets erect ; florets 



two, one perfect, one imperfect, 



96. M. nutans. Upland woods of Scotland and west of 

 England ; ranging through Europe and Temperate Asia. May 



