267 
Festuca rubra near Cardiff. 
Radical leaves 4—5 per shoot; sheath entire throughout, green 
at first, becoming more or less reddish-purple on drying, pubescent 
marcescent; ligule slightly bilobed; lamina almost appressed to 
shoot and in straight line with sheath, dark-green, lower surface 
with polished cuticle, complicate, length 33 mm., broadest diam. 
when closed TO mm., fairly rigid (compared with B), 5 longitudinal 
ridges, 7 vascular bundles, 7 strands of sclerenchyma below 
abaxial surface (including margins) and a small strand along each 
ridge of adaxial surface. 
Cauline leaves 3; sheath split throughout with overlapping 
edges, slightly pubescent or glabrous, generally slightly longer than 
the internode, base swollen, dark-coloured; ligule with broad, 
rounded sheath-lobe, abrupt transition from sheath to lamina; 
lamina as long as, or slightly longer than its sheath, highest with 
9 longitudinal ridges, 9 vascular bundles and 11 strands of scleren¬ 
chyma abaxially, flat. 
Haulm slightly curved at the base, then erect, terminated by 
panicle ; length from base (including panicle) 76 cm., diam. varies 
between 1*8 and 1*0 mm. from base to apex; upper two-thirds 
naked, almost cylindrical, but 12—15 slight longitudinal ridges, 
more obvious on drying. 
Panicle sub-secund, erect, length 18 cm., loose, open during 
anthesis, lower rhachillae widely separated, internodes almost or 
quite smooth. Lower rhachillae paired, unequal, with long stalks. 
Spikelets large, 13 mm. long, green or slightly violaceous, 2 
basal sterile glumes, 5—7 flowering glumes, axis jointed. Sterile 
glumes unequal, mucronate; lower smaller, 1-nerved, somewhat 
keeled; higher, larger, 3-nerved. Fertile glumes 5-nerved, all 
aristate, awns 3 mm. long; broadly lanceolate, 6—8 mm. long 
without the awn. Palea superior, 2-keeled, 2-nerved, pilose apex, 
Lodicules 2, massive, lower part becomes globular, upper unequally 
forked with blunt apices. Stamens 3. Ovary broadly ovoid or 
nearly globular, furrow glabrous, slight posterior; 2 nearly sessile 
terminal stigmas. The caryopsis has not been found to develop. 
B. Subvar. tenuifolia (new subvar.). 
Stock perennial, more densely caespitose. Extravaginal 
branches about equal to intravaginal ones, the former generally 
short, gently curving upwards from their base, bearing 1—4 (6) 
scale-leaves, rarely rooting at the nodes and more rarely branched, 
Radical leaves 4—5 per shoot; sheath-surface slightly rough 
hispidulous, due to minute downwardly directed reflexed hairs, 
