EXGLISH BOTAirr. 
SPECIES Vn.— p ESTUCA PRATENSIS. " Sudsr Booh. 
Plates MDCCXCI. l^IDCCXCII. 
BUlot, El. GaU. et Germ. Exsicc. No. 3270. 
Loosely ca?spitose. Rootstock with short slender creeping branches 
terminating in small tufts of flowering and barren stems or solitary 
flowering stems, and with very short slender stolons terminating in 
barren stems. Flowering stem erect from a more or less curved or 
geniculate base, rather slender, leafy, with all the sheaths furnished 
with laminae, but the lowest lamina frequently withered by the time 
of flowering. Leaves aU linear or broadly linear, flat, tapering 
gradually from the base to the apex, with numerous rather thick, 
slightly prominent smooth ribs, and slightly scabrous margins, bright 
yellowish-green on both sides, but more shining below; sheaths 
smooth, the uppermost one two or three times longer than its leaf ; 
ligule very short, several times broader than long, truncate, lacerate. 
Panicle lax, distichously unilateral or distichous, erect or scarcely 
drooping and open and narrowly triangular-oblong or linear-oblong 
in flower, erect and closed in fruit. Lower panicle-branches two 
at each node of the rachis, one branch of the pair bearing several 
spikelets, and the other commonly but a single spikelet, ascending 
in flower, erect and adpressed in fruit, the upper ones shorter, and a 
number of them soHtary and reduced to very short pedicels bearing a 
single spikelet or sometimes all or nearly all solitary and reduced 
to very short pedicels bearing a single spikelet ; all smooth or slightly 
scabrous. Spikelets 5- to 12-flowered, but usually 7- to 9-flowered, 
at first fusiform-cyhndrical, afterwards linear-elHptical. Glumes 
slightly unequal, lanceolate, subobtnse, the lower one 1-ribbed and 
three-quarters the length of the upper one, which is 3-ribbed. Lower 
pale lanceolate-elliptical, shortly acuminate, acute or mucronate, rarely 
shortly awned, faintly 5 -ribbed when dry, with the midrib nearly 
reaching the apex, or more rarely excurrent from a little below the 
apex; smooth or sHghtly rough, pale green, generally more or less 
tinged with purpHsh-brown, white and scarious at the margins 
towards the apex. 
