Brit. FI. p. 51. — Sincl. Hort. Gram. Wob. p.285, with a plate. — Lightf. FI. 
Scot. v. i. p. 105 — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 49. — Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 24. — Part. 
Midi. FI. v. i. p. 85. — Davies’ Welsh Bot. p. 12 — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd edit.) 
p. 46.— Hook. FI. Scot. p. 43. — Grev. FI. Edin. p. 30.— Johnston’s FI. of Berw. 
v. i. p.28. — Winch’s FI. of Northumb. and Durham, p. 8. — Walker’s FI. of 
Oxf. p. 80. — Bab. FI. Bath. p. 57. — Mack. Catal. of PI. of Irel. p. 15. ; FI. 
Hibern. p. 312. — Avena sesquitertia , Linn Mant. v. i. p. 34. excl. the reference 
to Scheuchzer. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. i. pt. i. p. 448. — Trisetum pnbescens, Pers.— 
Lindl. Syn. p. 308. — Gramen avenaceuml. seu glabrum fpotius hirsutum) 
panicula purpuro-argentea splendente, Ray’s Syn. p. 4C6 t. 21. f. 2. — 
Gramen avenaceum paniculd purpuro-argentea splendente, Scheuchz. Agr. 
226. t. 4. f. 20. 
Localities. — In pastures on a chalky or limestone soil. — Not uncommon in 
most counties in ENGLAND; more rare in SCOTLAND and IRELAND. 
Perennial. — Flowers in June. 
Root strong, somewhat creeping, fibres slightly downy. Culms 
(stems) from 18 inches to 2 feet high, simple, straight, except at 
the lowest joint, smooth, leafy. Leaves spreading, flat, bluntish, 
clothed all over with soft spreading hairs. Stipulas (ligulae) acute, 
triangular, the upper one elongated. Sheaths (vaginae) cylindrical, 
striated, the upper one nearly smooth, the lower ones clothed, like 
the leaves, with soft spreading hairs. Panicle upright ; all its 
branches in general simple, 3 or 4 together, rough, upright. Spike- 
lets upright, spreading when in flower. Florets purplish and silvery 
white, mostly 2, with an imperfect one, all on a long, bent, bearded 
partial stalk. Glumes of the calyx very unequal. Corolla with a 
purple stain, the paleae all shining and pellucid at the summit ; the 
outer one oblong, and jagged at the apex ; with a long, rough, 
brown, twisted awn, twice as long as the calyx, inserted at the back, 
about the middle. Styles very short. 
The leaves are very bitter, which makes it disagreeable to cattle. 
Mr. Sinclair states, that the downy hairs on the leaves almost 
disappear when the plant is cultivated on richer soils, and is in- 
clined to consider it of some value among the secondary grasses. 
It is readily distinguished from other species of Avena by the 
beautiful purplish and silvery white florets. 
Sir W. J. Hooker remarks, (Brit. Flora, p. 51.) that nothing, as 
it appears to him, can be more unnatural than to place this plant 
in a different genus from Avlna Alp'ina and planiculmis. In habit 
it partakes of the character of the larger-flowered species of the 
Genus, A. fatua and strigosa, and of the smaller-flowered one, A. 
f avescens. Dr. Lindley confines the Genus Trisetum to T. pu- 
bescens and T. fiavescens. Mr. Dumortier adds to it Avena pra- 
tensis, and Aira preecox, of the British Flora. 
