998 



THE GRASS FAMILY. 



As now limited, the genus comprises but one Mediterranean species 

 besides the two British ones. 



Spike seniicylindrical. Glumes pointed 1. Crested D. 



Spike ovoid. Glumes awned 2. Rough D. 



1. Crested Dog's-tail. Cynosurus cristatus, Linn. 

 (Fig. 1213.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 316.) 



A slightly tufted perennial, with short, 

 narrow leaves, mostly radical, and a 

 slender, often wiry, erect stem, from 

 under a foot to near 2 feet high. Flower- 

 ing spike semicylindrical, oblong or 

 nearly linear, 1 to 3 inches long ; the 

 clusters regular, and all turned to one 

 side ; the outer elegantly pinnate empty 

 spikelets being the most conspicuous, 

 and forming a kind of involucre to each 

 cluster, within which are 1 or 2 fertile 

 spikelets, each with 3 to 5 flowers. Ihe 

 glumes, whether empty or flowering, all 

 terminate in a very short point. 



In rather dry, hilly pastures, and 

 downs, throughout Europe and western 

 Asia, except the extreme north. Abun- 

 dant in Britain. Fl. summer. The dry 

 stalks, rejected by sheep, and remaining 

 all the autumn, are called Bents in many 

 parts of the country. 



Fiff. 1213. 



2. Rough. Dog's-tail. Cynosurus echinatus, Linn. 

 (Eig. 1214.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 1333.) 



An annual, much less stiff than the last, with flaccid leaves. Spike 

 ovoid and less regular ; the glumes, both of the empty and of the 

 flowering spikelets, all ending in an awn at least as long as them- 

 selves. 



