398 



WEEDS AXD USinfUL PLA>;TS, 



ly verr litlle esteemed hy our farmers : and in this tliev concur in the 

 opinion expressed bv Mr. G. Six'clair. in his valuable Hortus Grami- 

 neus. 



25. AyXHOXAX'THUM, L. Sweet-sgexted Yebxal Grass. 



[Greek. Ay^thos. flower, and anUion. of flowers ; flower of flowers.] 



Spikchti in a condensed, spike-form panicle: each spikelet 3-fiowered, 

 but the lower two (or apparently lateral) florets neutral, consisting merely 

 of a nsLvrow palea. which is hairy and awned on the back. Perfect ^fiord 

 diaudrous, with 2 short, smooth, shining palea?. Glumes thin, acute, 

 keeled, the upper about as long as the flowers and twice the length of 

 the lower. Grain smooth, adherent to and enclosed by the pales. 



1. A. odoea'tum. L. Panicle contracted into an oblong spike ; spike- 

 lets sub-pedunculate, spreading, pubescent ; palea; of the neutral florets 

 ciliate. 



Fragrant Axthoxaxthlh. Sweet-scented Vernal Grass. 

 Fr. Flouve odorante. Germ. Das Eusch-gras. 



i?ooi perennial. Culm erect. 12 -IS inclaes liigh, rather slender. LtciV'^s lance-liuear, 

 shortish (1 or 2 - 5 or 6 inches long) . pubescent : sheatfis nerved, sulcate : Uoule elongated, 

 membranaceous. J'ankl-: a si'TI lo^'^e spike 1-2 or 3 incb'.-s long, b-'Oi. niiiig yellow- 

 when mature : spikelds s-'-mowhat <•!• Avrx i"-'.-:i;'-'.'->. Pal: a- r-f th-- j'^'ructH-vet 

 very short, obtuse, nearly vi\iu\. .M!i->'tli ar.d sbimii.:. i;h'_' low^r viic much "broader. 

 PaUo: of the neutral Jlo/-etJ siuglo. l;uear-vli;..i;_', cUiatc on the margins. — one oi' them with 

 a geniculate awn from near the base, more than twice as long as tlie i>alea. the other with 

 a straight awn about as long as the paiea. inserted on the back near the summit. Anthers 

 hnear, large. Stigmas white. Grain oblong, blackish, shining. 



Meadows and moist open woodlands : introduced. Native of Europe. FI. Mav-June. 

 Fr. July. 



Obs. This has been much noticed, in Europe, as a fragrant meadow- 

 grass ; but it seems rather to belong to a moist, cold, thin soil. — and is 

 by no means regarded, in the United States, as a grass of superior value. 

 T\'hen cut, and partly dry. it emits a fragrant odor ; often remarkable 

 in new mown hay. The culms have be:u used in the manufacture of 

 imitation Leghorn hats and bonnets. 



This grass is the plant referred to by Dr. Darwix. in the following 

 lines of his imaginative poem, the •' Botanic Garden — 



" Tico gentle shepherds, and their sister-wives. 

 With thee, A>thoxa ! lead ambrosial lives ; 

 Where the wide heath in purple pride extends, 

 And scatter'd furze its golden lustre blends, 

 Closed in a green recess, unerivi'd lot 1 

 The blue smoke rises from their turf-built cot • 

 Bosom'd in fragrance blush their infant train, 

 Eve the warm sun. or drink the silver rain.'" 



Bot. Garden. Part II. Canto I. 7. 85-92 



26. PHAL'AEIS. L. Caxart Grass. 



[Greek, PhaJos, shining : alludirg to the shinmg florets, or paleje.] 



Spikekts in a dense or spiked panicle, 3-flowered, but the tivo lou'er (or 



