GRASS FAMILY 569 



grass) is the only British species, is a tufted plant with stems 

 6 — 12 in. high; short, linear, glaucous radical leaves with small 

 rough points; panicle oblong, rather i-sided, \ — § in. long, dark 

 blue-grey or lead colour. — Limestone and micaceous rocks ; local 

 in the north, and in the west of Ireland. (Named in honour 

 of Leonard Sesler, an Italian botanist.) — Fl. April — June. Pe- 

 rennial. 



phragm(tes COMMUNIS (Common Reed). 



30. CYNOStJRUS (Dog's-tail). — Spikelets in a i -sided, spike-like 

 panicle, 2 — 5-fiowered, with bristly comb-like glumes below them, 

 awnless. (Name from the Greek oura, tail, kunos, of a dog.) 



1. C. cristdtus (Crested Dog's-tail). — Slightly tufted, with 

 runners ; stems slender, erect, about a foot high ; leaves short, 

 narrow, with 2 -fid ligules ; spike 1 — 4 in. long, simple, unilateral ; 

 flowering glumes shortly awned. — Pastures ; abundant. A useful 

 grass ; but the wiry stalks when not eaten by sheep remain in a 



