B R O 



B R O 



ftiai^ht awii generally below its apex ; inner one lanceolate, 

 finall, awnlcfs. A'ttV. two-leaved ; leaflets ovate, acute, 

 gibbous at the bafe. Slam, filaments three, capillary, fliorter 

 than the corolla ; anthers oblong. Pyi. germ top-lhapcd ; 

 ftyles two, flujrt, reflex, villous. Stiomas fimple. Peri- 

 carp, the corolla cloL-ly (hut, adhering to the feed, not dehif- 

 cent. •Sci'f/ flugk, oblong, covered, convex on one fide, fur- 

 rowed on the other. 



Eir. Ciiar. C:i'.. two-valved ; fpikelets many-flowered, ob- 

 long, two-rowed ; (the awn below the apex of the outer 

 glume of the corolla, Linn.) inner glume fringed with ilroiig, 

 dillant, brillly hairs. Dr. Smith. 



The genus Bromus is entirely artificial, and there are no 

 natural boundaries between it and felluca that have been 

 liitlierto afcertained. It was originally alTumedbv Linnaeus, 

 that a terminal llraight au'n fliould determine a plant to be 

 a fefluca; but in pradlice this dillinftion has not bten llriflly 

 obferved, and great confulion has accordingly arifcu ia the 

 dillribution of fpecies. Dr. Smith's new ch.arafttr will prove 

 a happy one, if it (liall be found to prevail in all the foreign 

 fpecies, which have the geneal habit of Bromus ; but we 

 fear it will lometimes fail. It is already fufficiently evident, 

 tlial the pofition of the dorfr.l awn, and the fringe of the 

 glume, cannot both be admitted into the eflential charadter 

 of the genus. 



Sp. I. Ti. fecal'iKus, Linn. (Eng. Bot. pi. il^l. Knap, 

 p. 79.) /'o/)'mo/}6/.iu/, Scopoli, Hudfon, Withering. "Pa- 

 nicle fpreading ; peduncles nearly fimple ; fpikelets ovate, 

 comprefied, ten-flowered, florets dillmC^, roundifli." Dr. 

 Smith. Smooth rye brome-grafs. Root, annual. Stem 

 about three feet liigh, fimple, round, fmoolh, and leafy. 

 l.eavcs, broadifli, flat, ribbed, rough at the edge and un- 

 derneath, cloathed above with fhort, foft hairs ; fheaths 

 furrowed but not rough. Stipule, very fliort. Pamela, when 

 young, ereft, with lanceolate, clofed fpikelets ; when ma- 

 ture, pendent, with the fpikelets fo expanded that the rachis 

 is vifible between them. Calyxes unequal, awnlcfs ; glumes 

 elliptic, fmooth, three-nerved, membranaceous at the edges. 

 Florets, roundiih, Imooth, rarely downv, ovate, flat ; outer 

 glume marked with feven flight ribs, with a rou^h and 

 rather fhnrt awn ; inner glume toothed rather tlian fiingcd. 

 Dr. Smith. Knap. Native of England, in Norfolk 

 frequent. 2. B. muU'if.orus, Weigel. Gmelin. Willd. - 

 (Knap. Tab. So.) Confideved by Linnsus, a variety offe- 

 calinus. " Panicle fpreading ; peduncles feldom with more 

 than one fpikelet ; fpikelets, ovate-lanceolate comprefled, 

 fifteen-flowered; florets lubimbricate, roundifli." Dr. Smith. 

 Root, annual. Stem, fmooth. Lotucr leaves, naked be- 

 neath, a littla hairy at the edges above. Upper leaves, pu- 

 befcent, with a (hort wooUinefs beneath, hairy above ; all 

 rough at the edge ; flieath fmooth. Stipule, very fhort, 

 lacerated, fcarcely hairy. Panicle, as in the former. Spike- 

 lets, ovate-lanceolate, rather comprefled, imbricate, and 

 finally rather remote. Glumes generally fiightly pubefcent, 

 rarely fmooth. Dr. Smith. ^. B. mollis, Linn, faid by 

 La Marck, in Encyc. Meth. to be only a variety of Vi.fe- 

 callnus, but the error is correfted in the IllulL (Curtis ^. 

 Eng. Bot. 1078. Knap. 77.) " Panicle erect, clofe, com- 

 pound. Spikelets, ovate. Florets, imbricated, depreffed, 

 ribbed, downy." Dr. Smith. ^00/, annual, of a few fimple 

 fibres. Stem, ereft, about two feet high, fimple, filiated, 

 generally fmooth ; joints Iwelling, often thickly clothed with 

 hairs. Leaves and tlieir fheaths thickly covered with a foft 

 hoary pubefcence. Stipules, bluntly jointed. Panicle, two 

 or three inches long, creft, at firft clofe, afterwards a little 

 expanding ; branches half-whorled, the upper fimple, the 

 lower more or kfs fubdividcd, angular, pubefcent. Sptke- 



VOL.V. 



lets, nearly upright, ovate, acute, rather tumid. Florets, froni 

 feven to ten, clofely imbricated, elliptical, concave, and dc- 

 prcflcd. Calyx of two unequal glumes, fcarious at their edges, 

 keeled, villous, marked with feven or nine flrong green ribs. 

 Coy. glumes fimilar to thofe of the calyx, the external one 

 bearing a rough awn about its own length, a little below its 

 fummit ; inner one membranaceous, without nerves, with a 

 thick green fringed edge. Its compound denfe panicle, and 

 its ibongly ribbed, depreffed, clofely imbricated glumes, at 

 once dillinguifli it from the two former. The B. nanus of 

 Weigel is only a llarved dwarf variety. Dr. Smith. It is 

 a common plant in meadows; and in feme parts of th.e north 

 of England, conilitutcs a principal part of their herbage, 

 but chiefly in fields lately laid down, and owing perhaps not 

 to its being preferred on account of its own excellence, but 

 to the largenefs of its feeds, which are more eafily gathered, 

 and confequently more profitable to tl'.c coUeftor. Mr. 

 Knapp informs us, that in the fouthern part of Scotland it 

 is cultivated by itfelf like ray-grafs in England. 4. B. ra- 

 cemo/us, I-inn. Polymorphus, Hudfon, &c. (Eng. Bot. 

 io;9. Knap. 78.) " Panicle, nearly creft, fpreading, 

 fimple ; fpikelets ovate, of about fix imbricated, depreflTed, 

 ribbed, fmooth florets." Dr. Smith. It agrees in general 

 habit witli the preceding, but is more flender ; its glum.es 

 are perfeflly fmooth and fliining, and their ribs lefs promi- 

 nent. (i-B. fieSlnatus, Willd. " Panicle, fpreading ; fpike- 

 lets, ovate, imooth, inner valve of the corolla fringed, awn- 

 lefs." Thunberg. A native of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 6. B. lanceohitus, Willd. " Panicle, ereft, fpreading ; 

 fpikelets, lanceolate, fmooth, a little comprefled ; awns, at 

 the time of flowering, ftraight ; at the ripening of the feec', 

 bent." Roth. Root, annual. A native of dry fituatioiis 

 about the Cafpian fea. 7. B. ahpecurus, Willd. " Pani- 

 cle, clofe, ere6\ ; fpikelets round, awns divaricated." Vahl. 

 Spikelets, nearly fcffile, fpirally twilled at the bottom. 8. B. 

 fquarrofus, Linn. "Panicle nodding; peduncles fimple; 

 fpikelets ovate, twelve-flowtred ; florets imbricated, de- 

 prcfled ; awn§ divaricated." Dr. Smith. Root, annual. 

 Stem, a foot high, fimple, fmooth, ilriated, leafy. Leaves 

 and flieaths pubefcent, with a very fhort deflexed down. 

 Panicle with few flowers. Petluncles, fimple, comprefied, 

 thickening upwards. Spikelets, very large, ovate, fwellinn-, 

 poliflied, clofely imbricated. Calyx unequal, nerved, awn- 

 lefs. Coral, outer glume but httle larger than the calyx, 

 many-nerved, bipartite at the fummit; awns awl-fliaped, 

 rugged, the length of the glumes ; inner glume much lefs, 

 ciliated with a few diflaiit brillle^. Seed, elliptic, adhwing- 

 to the corolla, villous at the fumnit. Native of France, 

 Germany, Siberia, &c. Its claim to be admitted into the 

 Brltifli Flora reils entirely on the authority of Hudfon, 

 who probably millook for it fome variety of B. f.-calimis. 

 9. B. jjponlcus, Willd. " Panicle, fpreading, branched ; 

 fpikelets oblong, fmooth; awns divaricated." Thunb. 

 Root, annual. A native of Japan. 10. B. ii^Jus, Willd. 

 " Panicle, ereft, branched ; fpikelets ovate, with about 

 three flowers ; glumes bifid, fetaceous ; awn divaricated." 

 Thunb. Spikelets, fmall, fmooth. Glume, terminated bv 

 two awl-fliaped points of nearly its own length, ylzvn joint- 

 ed, reflexed. 11. B. pur^ans, Linn. "Panicle noddini^, 

 curled ; leaves naked on both fides; fheaths hairy ; glumes 

 villous." Root, perennial. Stem, a foot and half higlj. 

 fl;rong. Leaves, the breadth of a reed, keeled, green. 

 Sheaths with reverfcd hairs. Spikelets, from eight to four- 

 teen, flowered, oblong. Gathered in Canada by Kalin. 

 iz. B. cathartieus, Willd. " Panicle, fpreading, ereft, nearlv 

 fimple ; fpikelets, broadly lanceolate, flriated, rough ; awn's 

 fhort, flrait." Vahl, /{o&/, perennial, fcaly. Sheaths nzVzA. 

 3 C ■ Spikdeli, 



