THE GRASSES OF MAINE. 21 



and flower-bearing below the middle. Flowering glume without an 

 awn or rarely short awned, shorter than the lower glumes ; palea 

 minute or wanting. 



This grass grows in damp, shady places, and flowers in July. 



8. Agrostis scabra, Willdenow. 

 A-gros'-tis scd-bra. 



Common Names. Hair-Grass, Fly- Away Grass, Tickle Grass. 



Stem very slender, erect, from one to two feet high. Flowers in a 

 very loose, purplish panicle ; the long, slim branches bear flowers at 

 and near the end. Glumes very acute, the lower one somewhat longer 

 than the upper one; flowering glume usually awnless, rarely with a 

 short awn ; palea wanting. The branches of the panicle and the 

 back of the glumes are roughened with very minute bristles, because 

 of which it received the specific name scabra, meaning rough. This 

 grass is remarkable for the long and fine branches of the very loose 

 panicle. 



Common in dry places. Flowers in July and August. 



Flint states that it is of no agricultural value, and Gould says 

 that cattle dislike it. 



9. Agrostis canina, Linneus. 

 A-gros'-tis ca-ni'-na. 



PLATE III. 



Common Names. Brown Bent-Grass, Dog's Bent-Grass, Moun- 

 tain Red-Top. 



Stem from ten to eighteen inches high, erect ; the lower leaves 

 bristle form, with their edges rolled in, those of the stem flat and 

 wider. Panicle spreading ; glumes nearly equal in length, very 

 acute ; flowering glume shorter than the lower glumes and with a 

 veiy fine awn arising from the middle of the back and extending a 

 little beyond the end of the glumes ; spikelets brownish or purplish, 

 rarely greenish. 



A variety of this species called alpina, with a shorter and more 

 spreading panicle, grows on mountain tops. 



This grass grows mostly in mountainous regions, though some- 

 times in poor, wet, peat}' soil. It grows in detached patches, and 

 is seldom found in association with any other grass. Flint says it 



