60 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH GRASSES. 
Festuca ovina, var. duriuscula —hard fescue — leaves 
nearly plane on the culm, those of the root inclining 
to setaceous ; rhizome absent.—P. 
Festuca ovina, var. rubra—creeping fescue—leaves in- 
volute (rolled inwards at the edges), thus often 
appearing setaceous; panicle inclining to one side; 
rhizome more or less creeping.—P. 
b. Leaves plane. 
2. Festuca loliacea—spiked fescue—panicle spiked in two 
rows, like Lolium perenne ; leaves long, broad, and 
drooping.—P. 
Hestuca loliacea, var. pratensis—meadow fescue—pan- 
icle diffuse, inclining to one side; leaves upright and 
succulent.—P. 
Festuca loliacea, var. elatior—tall feseue—panicle large; 
much branched; leaves harsh and rigid.—P. 
On comparing our nomenclature with that of botanical 
authors, it will be seen that it differs materially from all of 
them ; our reasons for this course will be made apparent 
from the following observations and experiments :— 
Six years since we sowed separate plots of the three first 
forms with seed from the Messrs. Gibbs; these came up 
well, and soon established themselves in the separate tuft 
method so peculiar to this group when unmixed with other 
species. The first two years they were tolerably distinct, 
now, however, the following facts are observable :—F. ovina, 
duriuscula, and rubra, scarcely distinguishable in size or 
details, while the creeping habit of root of the latter is 
entirely lost. It may be remarked that the #. rubra is not 
amongst our wild forms at Cirencester, but we have occa- 
sionally met with specimens of F. duriuscula in the road- 
dirt with which the tops of our stone walls are frequently 
capped, having a decidedly creeping habit, which, if shown 
as a tendency in the “light sandy pastures near the sea,” 
which is given by Hooker as the habitat of the F. rubra, 
