24 
EXGLISII BOTA^'Y. 
more rarely terrestrial, the lower joints slender or slightly swollen, 
simple or ])ranclied froTii the lower knots. Leaves thin, with nnmer- 
ons close broad slio^htly-raised sliirhtly-rough ribs, pale jjreen, slio-htly 
glaucous. Panicle narrowly-cylindrical, rounded at the base and 
fij)cx, frequently slif]^htly attenuated towards the apex ; panicle- 
branches mostly with 2 to 4 spikelcts. S])ikelets oval-oblong. Glumes 
luuted only at the very base, obtuse, almost truncate, membranous, 
])ubescent, a little shorter than the pales, pale green, with darker 
^iireon stripes ; keel not winged, ciliated with long stiff hairs through- 
out. Awn from a little below the middle of the pale and extending 
very little beyond the glumes. Anthers sliortly- oblong, orange- 
scarlet or yellowish-white. 
In shallow pools, splashes, and ditches; very rarely on the ground. 
Local, and confined to the southern half of England, excluding 
apparei\tly the south-west, reaching to Norfolk, from whence the 
specimen figured in the first edition of "English Botany " was ob- 
tained: Kcnilworth, ^Yarwickshire (Mr. H. Bromwich) Oakmere, 
Che-^hiro (Mr. C. P,ailey) ; and Denbigh. Said to have been found 
by Don in File and Forfiir. but these counties cannot be included in 
its distribution until they have been confirmed. 
England. Perennial. Early Summer to Autunm. 
Stems numiTous. more or le>s decumbent at the base and genicu- 
late, sr.itietimes with the lower joints slightly thickened, <> to 18 inches 
long, the uppermost leaf near the panicle and sometimes quite close 
to it: when floatinof, the bnrrcn shoots are sometimes 2 or 3 feet. 
Leaves 1 to o inches long, i- to ! inch broad. Sheaths smootli, the 
uppenno>t one considerably swollen. Ligule prominent, lanceolate, 
bliinr. PaTucle j inch to '>}, inches, pale irreen without anv purple 
tinge. Spikelets inch long, ovate-obloiig. Glumes a little shorter 
than the pale^. pale green, with a djirker stripe on each side of the 
V t' ding the [)alos and never exceeding them by more than a quarter 
rlcir length. A?uhcrs orangi-scarlet in all the specimen^ I have 
H gri)\viT-g -wild: hut in the plant I have in cultivation, they are 
• ^ (in dry ground in 
ui Balmuto, it is 
