GRASS FAMILY 5J3 



2.* S. glaiua (Glaucous Bristle-grass).— A very similar plant; 

 panicle i — if in. long; jlowering glume trsinsyeTscly wrinkled. — A 

 cornfield casual, 'W'eybridge, Surrey. — Fl. September. Annual. 



3.* 5. verlicilldia (Rough Bristle-grass or Panic). — Another very 

 similar species ; but with a narrower, rather loose panicle ; down- 

 ward pointing barbs to the bristles; and a sm'ooth flowering glume. 

 — Cultivated fields near London and Nonvich. — Fl. Julv, August. 

 Annual. 



4. Sparti'n'a (Cord-grass). — Spikelets i-flowered, J m. long, 

 laterally compressed, sessile in 2 rows along one side of the erect, 

 spike-like branches of a raceme ; glumes 3, lowest smaller, second 

 5-ncrved ; flo-weriiig glume shonei, i-nerved,"awnless : iA7f?,f long, 

 united half-way up. (Name from the Greek spartini; a cord, from 

 a use to which the leaves have been put.) 



1. 5. stricla (Common Cord-grass). — A remarkably stiff, erect 

 grass, with a long, branched, creeping rool-stock: stems i — i-^V feet, 

 stout, polished, leafy ; leaves erect, leathery, pointed, glaucous 

 above, with blades jointed to their sheaths ; spikes 2 or 3, ad- 

 pressed, I — 3 in. long; outer glume i-nep'ed, hairy; r<ichis 

 scarcely extending beyond the last spikelet. — Muddy .-alt marshes 

 in the south ; local. It is cut at Southampton by the poorer 

 classes for thatching. — Fl. July — September. Perennial. 



2* S. alleniifltfra (Mam--spiked Cord-gras^). — A larger species, 

 2 — 3 feet high ; leaves with blades not joinfed to the sheaths ; 

 spikes 3 — S ; outer glume 5-nerved, glabrous except on its keel : 

 rachis produced beyond the last spikelet. — Mud flats, Southamp- 

 ton. — Fl. August. Perennial. 



3. 5. Toic'nseiidi, a still larger form, with shorter leaves ; broader, 

 larger spil;elets ; more lanceolate, downy glumes; and a fle.xuous 

 tip to the rachis : has recently spread along the shores of South- 

 ampton 'Water, the Beaulieu River. Poole Harbour, and the Isle 

 of Wight. 



5. Leersia (Cut grass), of which L. oj-'yzoides is the only 

 Brilish species, has a smooth, shining stem, !■ — 3 feet high, leafv 

 and hairy at the nodes ; broad, rough, glaucous leaves with a 

 truncate, torn ligule ; panicle fcw-flowered, very loose, with 

 slender, wavy branches, mostly enclosed in the leaf-sheath : 

 spikelets shortlv stalked, laterally compressed, .consisting of only 2 

 parchment-like glumes. — ^^ et places, Surreys Sussex, and Hants. 

 (Named in honour of John Daniel Leers, a German botanist.) — 

 FL August — October. Perennial. 



6. PH.ALARI3 (Reed-grass). — Spikelets i-fl(|wered, much com- 

 pressed laterally, in panicles, awnless ; glumes boat-shaped, keeled, 



