120 



drawing attention to the fact, that a " peculiar, sharp, conical point at 

 the base of the flowers will readily distinguish Bromus maximus from 

 all the other species of British Bromi." As this remark has been 

 quoted by other authors it is here appended, although the value of the 

 feature indicated is questionable; the "conical point" being only a 

 rudimentary pedicel, not an unfrequent adjunct to the bases of grass 

 flowers, and, though possibly constant in its presence in this instance, 

 too frequently the result of accidental development to have much 

 importance in deciding specific separation. 



** Outer glume three- to five- veined; inner one seven- to nine- 

 veined. Flowers oblong, turgid. 



Serrafalous, Parlatore. Babington. 

 t Outer palea seven-veined. 



Bromus secalinus. Smooth Rye Brome Grass. Plate Oil. 



Panicle loose, drooping when in fruit ; lower peduncles more or less 

 branched. Spikelets ovate-oblong, compressed, smooth. Flowers at 

 first imbricated, afterwards distinct, cylindrical, about the length of 

 their awns. 



Bromus secalinus, Linnceus. E. B. 1171 ; ed. 2. 151. Smith. 

 Hooker and Taylor. Parnell. B. arvensis, var., Bentham. 

 Serrafalcus secalinus, Babington. 



Not unfrequent in corn-fields, where its smooth, round, striated 

 stems usually rise to about the height of the crop. Leaves flat, rather 

 broad, roughish at the edges and underneath, but downy and soft 

 above, sharply pointed. Inflorescence at first erect, but more or less 

 drooping, after flowering, with the increasing weight of the seeds. 

 Panicle often simple, but more frequently having one or two of the 

 lowermost peduncles branched. Spikelets, ovate, glossy, eight- to ten- 

 flowered. Glumes broad, nearly equal ; the outer smaller, three- 

 veined ; the inner seven-veined. Flowers spreading and separating as 

 the fruit begins to enlarge. Outer palea about the length of its 

 straight or slightly wavy awn. 



Annual. Flowers from July to September. 



A troublesome weed in arable land, especially among wheat and rye, 

 and one that ought to be carefully eradicated before the approach of 

 the flowering season. This might be easily done, the foliage of the 

 grass being so dissimilar in aspect to that of the legitimate crop as to 

 be distinguished at a glance, and the labour would be well repaid. 

 Not only does the abundant production of the large seeds of the Eye 

 Brome Grass tend greatly to exhaust the soil, but, where present in 

 any quantity, they much deteriorate the value of the grain, by ripening 

 about the same time, and thus becoming mingled with it when threshed. 

 The occasional bitterness of both wheat and rye flour is generally due 

 to such admixture ; and the bread made from it is not only unpalatable 



