540 THE GRASS FAMILY. (Poa. 
less branched, and the spikelets rather longer, but it passes gradually into 
the common form. 
13, P. laxa, Henke. (fig. 1244). Wavy Poa.—A tufted or slightly 
creeping perennial, seldom a foot high, near P. alpina, but more slender, 
with narrower and more numerous leaves. Panicle loose, with few spread- 
ing branches. Spikelets rather larger than in P. alpina, from 1 to 3 
on each branch of the panicle, ovate, each with 3 or 4 flowers. Glumes 
about 2 lines long, more pointed than in most Poas. P. minor, Gaud. 
An alpine species, confined to high northern latitudes, or to great eleva- 
tions in the mountains of Europe, Russian Asia, and North America. In 
Britain, only on Ben Nevis and Loch-na-Gar, in Scotland, where it is 
usually in a viviparous state, and then not easily distinguished from P. 
alpina. I myself have seen no Scotch specimens that I could refer with 
certainty to P. laxa, 
14, P. alpina, Linn. (fig. 1245). Alpine Poa.—Stems tufted, often 
swollen at the base, but not so much so as in P. bulbosa, 6 inches toa 
foot high. Leaves short, rather broad, mostly radical or nearly so, and 
when perfect have a short inflected point. Panicle ovoid, about 2 inches 
long, rather spreading, with short but slender branches. Spikelets crowded, 
ovate, 3- to 5-flowered. Flowering glumes pointed and keeled; the lateral 
nerves not prominent, with a few minute silky hairs on the keel and edges, 
but with little or no wool at their base on the axis of-the spikelet. 
In alpine pastures, common in all the great mountain-ranges of Europe 
and central and Russian Asia, and at high latitudes in North America. On 
the higher mountains of Scotland, northern England, very rarely those of 
west of Ireland, frequently in a viviparous state, the spikelets being con- 
verted into leafy bulbs, #7. summer. 
15, P. bulbosa, Linn. (fig. 1246). Bulbous Poa.—A low, tufted 
perennial, seldom above 6 inches high, and remarkable for the bulbs formed 
by the swollen base of the stems and leaf-sheaths. Leaves short, the 
ligula of the upper ones prominent and acute. Panicle ovoid or oblong, 
spike-like or scarcely spreading, not much above an inch long. Spikelets 
ovate, 3- or 4-flowered. Flowering glumes about a line long or rather 
more, pointed and keeled; the lateral nerves not prominent, with minute 
silky hairs on the keel and edges, and a few short woolly ones at their base 
on the axis of the spikelet. 
In dry waste places, on roadsides, &c., especially near the sea, in tem- 
perate and southern Europe, and across Russian Asia, extending north- 
wards into southern Scandinavia. In Britain, chiefly near the sea,and only 
in the southern and eastern counties of England. £7. spring. | 
XXXVI. CATABROSA. CATABROSE. 
A single species, closely allied to Poa, but the spikelets have usually only 
2 flowers, the glumes broad and truncate at the top or slightly jagged. 
1, C. aquatica, Beauv. (fig. 1247). Water Catabrose.—A glabrous, 
tender, pale-green perennial; the stems procumbent, and creeping or 
floating at the base, rooting at the nodes, and often 2 or 3 feet long; the 
flowering branches erect. Leaves short, flat, and flaccid. Panicle 4 to 6 
inches long, consisting of many sets of half-whorled, unequal, slender, and 
