CRASS FAMILY 



569 



grass) is the only British species, is a tufted plant with stems 

 6 — 12 in. high; short, linear, glaucous radical leaves with small 

 rough points; panicle oblong, rather i-sided; }-, — | in. long, dark 

 blue-grey or lead colour. — I.imestone and micaceous rocks ; local 

 in the north, and in the west of Ireland. (Named in honour 

 of Leonard Sesler, an Italian botanist.) — Fl. April — fune. Pe- 

 rennial. 



PHR.AC^liTE? COMMUNIS {Co77!n;0!i Rcc4)- 



30. Cynost^-rus (Dog's-tail). — Spikelets in a r-sided, spike-like 

 panicle. 2 — 5-fiowered, with bristly comb-like glumes below them, 

 awnless. (Name from the Greek aura, tail, k'unos, of a dog.) 



I. Ccristdtus (Crested Dog's-tail). — Slightly tufted, with 

 runners ; stems slender, erect, about a foot high ; leaves short, 

 narrow, with 2-fid ligules ; spike 1 — 4 in. long, simple, unilateral : 

 flovc'ering eluiues ihonlx Siv:ned. — Pastures: abundant. A useful 

 Lfrass ; but the wiry stalks when not eaten by sheep remain in a 



