56S 



GRAMINIC/E 



rare. It is a good sand-binder and uhe of the best pasture 

 grasses of many dry climates, such as India, where it is caUed 

 Doorba or Doab-grass, and Bermuda, where it is called Bermuda 

 grass. (Named "from the ("keek o,/oiis, a tooth, knnos, of a dog.) 

 — Fl. July, August. Perennial. 



27. SiEGLfNGiA (Heath-grass), of which S. thrianbens (Creep- 

 ing Heath-grass) is the only British 

 species, is a bright green, densely 

 tufted plant,with stiff, smooth stems, 

 6 — 12 in. high; blunt, thick leaves 

 with a tuft of hairs for a ligule ; 

 spikelets 5 or 6, rarely 7 — 10, in a 

 flexuous raceme, 3 — 4-tlowered, 

 rather larga, awnless, pale green and 

 purplish ; fioieering glume 5-ribbed, 

 hairy at the base, with 3 minute 

 teeth at the top. — Dry lieaths and 

 moors ; cofnmon, mdicating poor 

 soil. (Na,med in hcmour of Pro- 

 fessor Siegling, of Erfurt.) Fl. July, 

 August, l^'erennial. 



28. P H R AGM h E.s ( Reed ), of which 

 P, commuhis (Common Reed) is 

 the only species, is a stout grass, 

 5 — 10 feet high, with a long, creep- 

 ing root-Sfock ; numerous long 

 leaves, often an inch broad, glaucous 

 beneath, all up the stem ; a dense, 

 drooping p/tuicic 10 — iS in. long, of 

 a purplish*- brown colour, with 

 numerous branches ; spikelets very 

 numerous, A^$ in. long, shining, 

 ] — fi-fluwered, awnless, with long, 

 silky hairS' on the rachilla which 

 lengthen as the fruil ripens and gn e 

 the panicle a beautiful silvery ajv 

 pearance. — In wet ditches, marshes, and shallow waters, almost 

 all over the world ; common. It is very serviceable on river 

 banks for binding the soil, and is usetl for thatch. The runners 

 are nutritious, containing much sugar, and might be used as fodder. 

 (Name said to be from the Greek phragiria, a hedge.) — Fl. July, 

 August. Perennial. 



29. Sesli';ria (Moor-grass), of which S. eu-rulea (Blue JMoor- 



SIEGI-lNGIA DEC:UMBENS 



{Cyticpin:^ J liittii-grass). 



