Festuca Loliacea. Darnel Fescue-Grass. 
FESTUCA. Linn . Gen. PI. Triandria Digynia. 
Cal. 2 -valvis. Spicula oblonga, teretiufcula, glumis acuminatis. 
Rah Syn. Gen. 27. Herb/e graminifoli/E flore imperfecto culmifer^e. 
FESTUCA lolicea fpicata, fpiculis alternis feffilibus, compreflis muticis. Hudf. FI. Angi. ed. i./>. 38. 
POA locuftis diftichis, fpicatis, muticis. Hali. Hijl. n. 1452. 
PHCENIX longius fpicata. Park. Theat. p. 114 6. fig. to the left f 
l H Vari - U u a PP eara " ce ® ' vhlch thls piant affumes, it may be ftyled the very Proteus of Grafles; in its 
molt uiual form it bears a refemblance to the Lolium perenne, and hence it has been confidered by fome as a 
variety of that plant, and as fuch it is figured by Morison ; when branched, which it frequently is, it ap- 
proaches near to, and has been taken for the Fejluca pratenfs, but it indifputably is a diftinft plant from both. 
With us it grows fpontaneoufly, and plentifully in moift fertile meadows. 
In root, (talk, leaves, and habit it comes fo near to the Lolium perenne as fcarcely to be diftinguifhed from 
it, but ulually exceeds it m height by about one third ; the flowers in general grow in a fimple fpike from eight 
inches to a foot in length, bending a little towards the top ; the fpicula; are felfile, nearly an inch long divero- 
mg from and for the moll part placed obliquely to the rachis, fometimes {landing on foot-ftalks of different 
lengths, the lowermoft ones about an inch long, nearly round, flattened a little on the fides, running out to a 
point; the uppermoft ones fhorter and fomewhat broader, containing from ten to fifteen flowers the calvx 
ulually confifts of two valves unequal in fize, the innermoft frequently fmall, lateral, and fometimes wanting; 
the other parts of the frufchfication are very fimilar to thofe of the pratenfis and elatior. 0 
The flowers, as we before obferved, ufuallv grow in a fimple fpike : this fpike not unfrequently occurs 
branched; then its appearance is greatly altered, and it approaches nearer to the feftuca pratenfis ; but in that 
ftate it is difiinguifhed from it by the length of its fpiked panicle; moft commonly the branches grow from the 
bale of the ipike, iometimes from the middle ; in Batterfea meadows, where this grafs is found abundantly I 
have obferved a variety, in which the fpicula; were fhorter than ufual, and two or three of them <r r ew together 
from the fame point ; but the grand difficulty which the ftudent has to encounter in relation to°this grafs is 
wnen he meets with that variety of it, which having fhorter and broader fpicula; than ufual, refembles Lolium 
perenne fo much, as to make him ready to exclaim, “ they are the fame in this dilemma there are three cha- 
racters, fome one of which I have never yet known t© fail : firft, the fituation of the fpicula: with refpeft to the 
rachis ; the edge of thefe in the Lolium is always parallel with the rachis, which gives the fpike a flat appear- 
ance ; in the loliacea they are placed more or lefs obliquely: fecondly, in the Lolium perenne there is never more 
than one valve to the calyx, which is a ftrong one, ufually two thirds as long as the fpicula; in the Feft lol 
there is for the moft part two, though it often happens that the inner one is very fmall, imperfeft, and fometimes 
wanting altogether : but it happens very rarely indeed that the inner valve is wanting in all the fpicula; of a fpike 
from the fame root; fliould this charafter fail, our dependance mull be, thirdly, on the length of the outer valve 
of the calyx, which rarely is more than one third as long as the fpicula. 
We have dwelt thus minutely, tedioufly we fear fome may think, on thefe circumftances, from a wifh to remove 
all doubts refpeaing this plant, and fave fuch as may honour the Flora Lond. with their perufal, from expe- 
riencing the difficulties and perplexities in which it has frequently involved us. 
The Feftuca loliacea comes into bloom about the fame time as the pratenfis, it is therefore not fo early as 
fome other grafles ; we have found it from many years culture a hardy perennial of very quick growth, producing 
a larger but fomewhat fimilar crop to ray grafs, fucceeding beft in a moift foil ; it is however rather harffi ancl 
ftalky ; thofe qualities excepted it would appear to be equal in goodnefs to fome of the beft of our pafture 
grafles, and as fuch we recommend it to the notice of the Agriculturift : there is one circumftance attends this 
grafs which we muft not omit to make known, as it highly concerns its culture, and affords a fomewhat unufual 
infiance of vegetable ceconomy : the cultivated plant has produced me no perfeft feeds, either at Lambeth- 
Marffi or Brompton ; the fame nearly may be faid of the elatior, while the pratenfis has conftantly produced 
good feeds in abundance. 7 r 
In the firft edition of Mr. Hudson’s FI. Angl. we find this Feftuca under the name of loliacea, a name 
highly proper, whether we confider it as referring to the Lolium perenne, which it fo much refembles or to 
the affinity it bears to the genus Lolium ; for it certainly is the conne&ing link of the Feftuca and Lolium ■ we 
have to regret, however, that the ingenious author fliould derogate from the merit of making it a foedes’, by 
confidering it in the fecond edition of the fame work as a variety of the Feftuca fluitans. ° 7 
Partes Fru&ificationis. 
Fig. 1. Spicula. 
2. Gluma calycina. 
3, 4. Corollae ere. 
5. Neclaria. 
6. Stamina. 
7. Piflillum . 
Fig. 
Parts of Fru&ification. 
1 . One of the Spicula. 
2. Glumes of the Calyx. 
3. 4 ' Corolla. 
5. The Nehlaries. 
6. The Stamina. 
7. The Piflillum. 
