Scot. p. 35.— Grev. FI. Edin. p.23. — FI. De u on. pp. 17 & 124. — Johnston’s Fi. 
of Berwick, v. i. p. 24. — Winch’s FI. of Northunib. and Durli. p. 6. — Baxter’s 
Lib. of Agrieul. and Horticul. Know). (2nd ed.) p.306. — Loud. Mag. Nat. Hist, 
v. i. p. 382. f. 174. t. — Walker’s FI. of Oxf. p. 24.— Bab. FI. Bath. p. 59.— 
Mack. Cat. of PI. oflrel. p. 14. ; FI. Hibern. p.305. — G rumen pratense minus, 
seu vulgatissimum, Ray’s Syn. p. 408. — Gramen minimum album, Johnson’s 
Gerarde, p. 3. 
Localities. — In meadows and pastures ; and in waste and cultivated ground, 
arid by road-sides, every where, except in alpine situations. 
Annual. — Flowers from April to November. 
Root very fibrous. Culms ( stems J numerous, somewhat pro- 
cumbent, or, when growing among other plants, nearly upright ; 
from 3 to 12 inches long, very smooth, slightly compressed, leafy, 
jointed, branched at the base, spreading in every direction, and 
taking root at many of their lower joints. Leaves of a fine light- 
green, spreading, strap-shaped, bluntish, flaccid, rough at the edges 
only, flat, except a few transverse wrinkles here and there, cha- 
racteristic of the species, though not absolutely peculiar to it. 
Sheaths long, compressed, smooth, striated, paleish. Stipula 
(ligula) of the upper leaves oblong and acute; of the lower ones 
shorter, blunter, and jagged. Panicle somewhat triangular, flattish, 
upright, smooth. Spikelets egg-shaped, of 5 or 6 florets, smooth 
and polished. Glumes fvalves of the cahjxJ unequal, egg-spear- 
shaped, rough at the back, nerved. Outer palea (valve of the 
corolla) egg-spear-shaped, pointed, white and membranous at the 
margin, keel and base hairy ; inner notched, rough-edged. There 
is no web or hairiness at the base of the florets. Anthers short. 
Styles distant, very short. Stigmas branched. 
There is no grass, says Mr. Curtis, better entitled to Ray’s 
epithet of vulgatissimum than this, for it is common to every quar- 
ter of the globe, and occurs almost every where in meadows, 
gardens, by the sides of paths, and on walls ; flowering all the 
Summer, and even in the Winter, if the weather be mild. When 
it grows in very dry situations it frequently does not exceed three 
inches, but in rich meadows it often grows more than a foot high. 
The panicle is usually green, but in open fields it frequently ac- 
quires a reddish tinge. 
In walks, pavements, and pitching, it is one of our most troublesome weeds ; the 
most effectual remedy to destroy it in such situations, Mr. Sinclair says, is by an 
application of common salt, just after the pitchings or walks have been cleaned ; it 
should be strown over the surface sufficiently thick to make each particle of the 
salt touch another. This dressing will be found to prevent the vegetation of the 
seeds or roots of the grass. It will also be found to destroy worms or slugs. 
The foliage of this grass is tender, sweet, and grateful to cattle, but as it is an 
annual, does not attain any great size, and is liable to be killed by severe frost ; it 
is not likely to be of any material service to the farmer, though it has been much 
extolled by some writers. Its duration being annual renders it unfit for grass-plats, 
for which it has been much recommended ; it differs, however, from most other 
annuals, in continually throwing out new shoots, so that it may generally be found 
with young shoots and ripe seed at the same time ; and its seeds, which are abun- 
dantly produced, vegetate quickly, so that ere the parent plant decays, an abundant 
progeny are ready to occupy its place. 
