CXIIX. GRAMINEAE 
617 
Deyeuxia scabrescens, Munro ; FI. Br. I?id. vii. 267. Per- 
ennial; stems tufted, 2-5 ft., erect. Leaves rough, 6-18 in., 
up to ^ in. broad. Ligule membranous, long. Spikelets numerous, 
green or tinged with purple, roughly pubescent, ^ in., slightly 
flattened, 1-fiowered, crowded on the rough, slender, whorled 
branches of a narrow, erect panicle 3-6 in. long ; branches spread- 
ing at least in flower, 1-2 in., flower-bearing nearly to the base. 
Khachilla prolonged as a tuft of silky hairs as long as the flowering 
glume. Empty glumes 2, nearly equal, concave, lanceolate, keels 
rough. Flowering glume shorter, transparent, tip 2-lobed, a 
straight, shortly protruding awn in the cleft, tips of lobes truncate, 
jagged. Stamens 3. Styles 2, short, distinct, feathery. Grain 
narrowly oblong, free within the persistent glumes. 
Simla. — Temperate Himalaya, 8000-13,000 ft. 
Tribe YI. Aveneae. 
34. AVENA. The Latin name of the Oat. — Temperate and 
cold regions. 
Annual or perennial ; stems robust, erect. Leaves flat, 6-12 
in., up to ^ in. broad, long-pointed. Ligule membranous, short, 
oblong, truncate or jagged. Spikelets stalked, ^-1 in., narrow, 
terete, 2-4-flowered (the uppermost flower usually rudimentary), 
arranged on the whorled branches of a loose, spreading panicle. 
Bhachilla densely silky, prolonged. Glumes concave, acute ; nerves 
prominent. Empty glumes 2, glabrous, thin, lanceolate, the 
margins and tip scarious. Flowering glumes rather shorter, firmer, 
oblong-lanceolate, the tip split into 2, sometimes 3 or 4 finely 
pointed lobes, rarely nearly entire, a long, thick, bent and twisted 
awn inserted on the back. Stamens 3. Ovary hairy on the top ; 
styles 2, short, distinct, feathery. Grain oblong, furrowed, hairy 
on the top, enclosed within the persistent glumes and more or less 
adherent to the pale. 
The Common Oat, A. sativa, is cultivated in N.W. India, principally as 
green fodder for horses. 
Spikelets 1 in., drooping. Empty glumes nearly equal . . 1. A. fatua. 
Spikelets \ in., erect. Empty glumes very unequal . . . 2. A. aspera. 
1. Avena fatua, Linn . ; FI. Br. hid. vii. 275. Annual ; stems 
1-3 ft. Leaves rough ; sheaths smooth. Panicle 6-10 in. ; branches 
spreading ; rhachis and branches nearly smooth. Spikelets about 
1 in., 3- or 2-flowered, pendulous ; stalks rough, unequal. Empty 
glumes nearly equal, 9-nerved. Flowering glumes thinly hairy, 
tip 2-lobed, awn nearly three times the length of the glume, inserted 
below the middle ; lowest flowering glume with a tuft of bristle- 
like hairs at its base. 
Simla, in fields. — Punjab, N.W. Himalaya, up to E0C0 ft. — N. Asia, N. Africa, 
Europe, including Britain (Wild Oat), 
