TRIAXDHIA DIGVXIA 85 



1. It. vulgahe, L. SptkeleU all fertile, awned ; the seeds arrang- 

 ed in four rows. Willd. Spa 1. p. 472. 



Coxmox Houdeum. Yu\gd—liarlct;. Four-rowed Barley. 



Oallicc Orge commune. German. — Die Gerste. — Hispaa. — Cebada. 



Rootannual. Culm '2 to3 feet high,smootli. Leaves lanceolate, keeled, striate, 

 smoothish : sheaths nerved, smooth, auriculate at throat ; ligule very short. Spike 

 mbout 3 inches long, thick, somewhat i*ided : rachifl compress* ', smooth, pubescent 

 on the margin. Spikelets \ftowertA, with a pubescent awn4ike rudiment at the 

 of the upper palea. Glumes collateral, in front shorU r than thefiorets, fiat . 

 laL -linear, pubescent, terminating in a slender awn. Lower palea ^nervod, 

 smoothish. scabrous mar the apex, terminating in a very long awn, which is keel- 

 e:U somewhat '^nerved, ami serrulate on the margin. Upper palea acuminate* ob- 

 tuse, sometimes emarginate. Ovary pilose at summit. Seed lame-oblong, some- 

 rcluU angular, sulcate on the upper side, adhering closely to the paletB. 

 Hab. Cultivated fallow grounds: frequent. Fl. May. Fr. June. 



Obs. This and the fallowing species arc. cultivated extensively,— and almost ex- 

 elusivelyfor the Breweries. The "ruin is rarely given tocattle ; and Hurley bread 

 is unknown here. The plant requires a good soii,-and, tvence, serves as a hind qf 

 index to the quality of our farms i the fallow crop on good land being generally 

 Barley,— while the oa upants of a poor soil have to be content with a crop of Oais. 

 The seed is sown about the last of March. 



2. II. DiSTlCHUtt, L. Lateral spilcelets abortive, awnlees ; the seed* 

 arranged in two rows. Willd. Sp. 1. p. 473, 



Distichous Hohdettji. Vulgo — Two-rowed Barley. 



Root annual. Culm 2 to3 feet high smooth. Leaves lanceolate, nerved, scab* 

 sous on the upper surface : sheaths nerved, smooth, with 2 lanceolate auricular ap> 

 pendages at throat ; ligule short, truncate. Spike3*o \ inches long, compressed, 

 linear: rachis compressed, smooth, hirsute on the margin. Spikelets {flowered; the 

 central one perfect, the lateral ones staminate, or neuter. Glumes lan^e-linear.pi- 

 lose, ter initiating in a short slender awn. Perfect floret sessile ; Lower palea sub- 

 coriaceous, smooth, keeled or angular, partially o-ncrved, terminating in a very 

 long, keeled* serrulate awn, ant embracing the upper p<uea. Upper palea with a 

 pilose awn-like rudiment at base. Abortive florets pedicellate, mostly staminate k 

 (sometimes neuter ,') lower palea awnless ; upper one with a naked awn at base. 



Hub. Cultivated fallow grounds : frequent. Fl. June. Fr. July . 



Obs. This species is something later than the preceding, in coming to maturity; 

 mid on that account is preferred by many farmers— as il interferes less with their 

 Hay crops. It also stands better, awl yields a heavier grain,— though not a great- 

 er quantity. The seed is sown at the same time as the foregoing. Two other spe- 

 f'ww have been found in the U. Slates. 



* * 



Glumes broad, boat-shaped. 



56. TRITICUM. L. Nutt. Gen. 121. 

 i Latin, Tritum, rubbed, or ground; the seed being so prepared forfood.] 



Spikelets distichously imbricated, sessile on the teeth of the rachis, 

 »bout 5-flowered, the 2 terminal florets mostly abortive. Glumes 2, 

 siqaal, opposite, ovate, concave, mucronate. Lower palea bt a. -shaped, 



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