390 



WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 



Root SimiuaA. Culm 2 or 3-5 feet high, terete, smooth, — ^the nodes striate, pubescent, 

 ieaues 6-15 inches long, lance-hnear, nerved smooth or slightly scabrous on the upper 

 surface ; sheaths nerved, smooth ; ligule truncate, dentate. Spi'i:e3~b inches long, dense, 

 4-sided, mostly simple, finally nodding ; rachis compressed, broad, hirsute on the margin. 

 (SpiifceZefe sessile, broad, compressed at apex. Glumes ventricose, boat-shaped at apex. 

 Florets usually 3 fertile and 2 abortive, — the penultimate one pistillate, the terminal one 

 neutral and pedicellate. Palece nearly equal, — the lower one ventricose, awnedor mucro- 

 nate, the upper one folded, ciliate on the two keels. Ca?-!/qpsis ovoid-oblong, sulcate on 

 the upper side, yellowish or brown. 



Fields : cultivated. Native country uncertain, — perhaps Persia. Fl. June. Fr. July. 



Ohs. ' Although it has been estimated that more human beings are 

 nourished by Rice, than by any other grain, — yet it is probable that 

 "Wheat is the most intrinsically valuable of all the Cerealia, or grain- 

 bearing grasses. It is to this plant that civilized man — especially in the 

 temperate latitudes — is emphatically indebted for his bread ; and it is 

 consequently a prominent object of attention with the practical agricul- 

 turist. The variety, called " Spring Wheat," is occasionally, but rarely, 

 cultivated in this country, — while the " Winter Wheat " is cultivated 

 everywhere, throughout the northern, middle, and western States. A 

 plant that has been so long under culture, in almost every kind of soil 

 and climate, of course presents specimens of various character, and 

 aspect ; — such as bearded, beardless, red-chaff, white-chaff &:c., and the 

 color of the grain also, varies from whitish, or yellowish, to brown. 

 These fixed characters, or permanent varieties of the plant (called races 

 by the Botanists), have all, in their turn, been favorites with the farm- 

 ers, — according as they were best adapted to the market, or the place 

 of growth — or best resisted the ravages of the " Hessian fly." A bearded 

 variety, with a brown grain, called " Mediterranean W^heat," is the favor- 

 ite one in some localities. In remarking on the character of the grain, 

 M'CuLLOCH says, " the finest samples of Wheat are small in the berry 

 (caryopsis), thin skinned, fresh, plump, and bright, slipping readily 

 through the fingers." 



One species of Triticum (T. turgidum, L) is said to be cultivated in 

 Italy, solely for the manufacture of Leghorn or straw hats. 



Perennials : spikes mostly 2-ranked : glumes lanceolate or linear-oblong, 

 often acuminate. 



2. T. re' pens, L. Rhizomas creeping; spikelets 4-8-flowered, awn 

 none, or not more than half the length of the floret ; leaves flat. 

 Creeping Triticum. Couch-grass. Quitch-grass. 

 Fr. Chien-dent. Germ. Gemeine Quecke. 



Root perennial. — a white, jointed, creeping rhizoma. Culm about 2 feet high, smooth. 

 Leaves 4-8 or 12 inches long, lance-linear, nerved, scabrous and somewhat pilose on 

 the upper surface; sheaths nerved, smooth; ligule short, truncate. Spike 3-5 inches 

 long; rachii flexuose, compressed, scabrous on the margin. Glumes keeled, strongly 

 nerveil, roughish, — the outer margin broader. J'^orefe alternate, a little distant. Loivei' 

 palea 6-nerved, mucronate, smooth ; upper palea obtuse, ciliate-serrate on the two keels. 



Meadows, pasture lots, &c.: introduced. Native of Europe. J^L July. JV. August. 



Obs. Tills species — which is quite distinct in habit from the genuine 



