134 THE GENERA AND THEIR SPECIES. 



Variety— 



P. minor. Leaves folded and incurved, tapering at 



tip ; upper ligule long, lower ligules 

 short. 



This is one of the most interesting plants of the seaside. 

 The young bulbs are blown about the sands for weeks until the 

 autumn rains come, when they settle themselves in a spot that 

 is comfortable to them, take deep root, and thrive, so that in the 

 spring they produce a dense tuft of foliage peculiarly grateful to 

 cattle. 



Polypogon. Plate viii. AGROSTIDE/E. 



24. monspeliensis 18 in. Annual Beard Grass. Awn more than 



three times as long as spikelet. 



25. Httoralis 24 in. Perennial Beard Grass. Awn less 



than three times as long as spikelet. 



24. P. monspeliensis. Fields ; south-east of England, ranging 

 through Temperate Asia, the Mediterranean, and Western Europe. 

 July and August. Root annual, fibres downy and short. Stems 

 numerous, decumbent at base, then erect, leafy; nodes smooth. 

 Leaves flat, broad, pointed, spreading, flaccid, edges and ribs 

 rough, glaucous. Sheaths long, smooth, striated, uppermost 

 longer than leaf ; ligule long, pointed, rough on back. Spike 

 slightly branched, silky, yellowish. Spikelets numerous, crowded, 

 one floret. Glumes nearly equal, linear, notched at apex, hairy, 

 striped with green, keel toothed, awn at least thrice as long as 

 spikelet. Outer palea half as long as glumes, ovate, notched, 

 awned ; inner palea shorter than outer, transparent, notched, 

 awnless. Scales oblong. 



25. P. liitoralis. Salt marshes, south-east coast from 

 Norfolk to Hampshire, ranging through the Mediterranean, 

 Western Europe, and North America. July and August. Root 

 perennial, rootstock creeping, tufted, branched. Stem decum- 



