392 



WEEDS A^Q^D USEFUL PLAXTS. 



age — wnere other grasses will not tlirive — but in the nortliern Stat s \i 

 is considered desirable to keep our farms as clear of it "as possible. 



20. SEOA'LB, L. Rye. 



[Latin, sacare, to cut ; or perhaps from the Celtic, Sega, a sickle] 



Spilcelels 2-flowered, — arranged as in Triticura. Glumes sub-opposite, 

 keeled. Lowe)- palca awned at apex, keeled, with unequal sides— the 

 outer side broader and thicker ; upper palca shorter, 2-keeled. Scales 2, 

 entire, ciliate. Stamens 3. Grain free, hairy at summit. A tall an- 

 nual, ])luish-glaucous grass with long-awuedj?o re?s. 

 1. S. cerea'le, L. Spikes compressed, linear; glumes subulate, sca- 

 brous ; palese smooth, — the lower one bristly-ciliate on the keel and ex- 

 terior margin. 



Harvest Secale. Rye. Common Rye. 



Fr. Le Seigle. Germ. Gemeiner Roggen. Span. Centeuo. 



CtiZ?n 4-6 feet high, glabrous, hairy near the spike. Leaves 6-18 inches long, lance 

 linear, smooth beneath, roughish above and on the margin, glaucous ; sheaths membrana- 

 ceous, nerved, smooth ; ligule short, dentate. Spike 4-6 inches long, 2-sided and flattish, 

 linear. Spikelets mostly 2-flowered, with aa awn-like rudiment of a third. Glumes a little 

 distant from the florets, opposite, scabrous, bristly-pilose at base. Lower xmlea ventricose, 

 acuminate, compressed at apex, 5-nerved, terminating in a long scabrous awn ; Iceel and 

 exterior margin bristly-ciliate, — the inner margin not ciliate, and the nerves on that side 

 less conspicuous ; upper pal ea lanceolate, acuminate, often bifid at apex, sparingly ciliate 

 on the 2 keels. Grain oblong, sub-cylindrical, grooved on the upper side, hairy at sum- 

 mit ; dusky brown. 



Fields : cultivated. Native of the East. Fl. June. Fr. July. 



Obs. This cereal grass seems to do best in light sandy soils. The grain 

 in such soils is of a better quality, and affords a whiter flour. Rye 

 comes nearer to Wheat, in bread-making qualities, than any other 

 grain, — but is, nevertheless, decidedly inferior to it. It is the principal 

 bread-corn of the northern parts of Europe — especially of Russia and 

 Germany. 



The seed is subject — particularly in wet seasons — to become diseased, 

 and enlarged, — producing what is called Ergot, or spurred Rye. This 

 diseased grain is injurious to health, when made into bread ; but has 

 been found to possess important medical properties, in certain cases, 

 when judiciously administered. 



21. HOR'DEUM, L. Barley. 



[.in ancient Latin name ; of obscure derivation.] 



Spikelets l-flovvcred, with a subulate rudiment of a second floret — ar- 

 ranged in threes at the joints of the rachis, the lateral ones mostly abor- 

 tive. Glumes lance-linear, flat, rigid, subulate-awned, collateral in front 

 of the spikelets, 6 in number, forming a kind of involucre. Palece her- 

 baceous, — the lower one concave, produced into a long awn at apex. 

 Stamens 3. Grain hairy at summit, oblong, sulcate on the upper or 

 inner side, adherent to the palcae, or rarely free. 



