186 
TRIANDRIA. DIGYNIA. Rromus. 
Curt. —( Hort. Gram. — E. Bot. 1821. E.)— Park. 1146. 7— H. Ox. viii. 2.2, 
the single spike. 
( Stems several, erect; two feet high. E.) Spike eight or ten inches long; 
sometimes a little branched at the bottom. Spikets sessile, nearly upright, 
containing from nine to fourteen florets. Calyx valves ribbed similar to 
those in E.elatior ; inner valves sometimes wanting. Blossom not ribbed 
like that in F. jluitans. (It is distinguishable from every variety of 
F. jluitans by the glumes being sharp-pointed and not ribbed; from the 
plants of the genus Lolium by its bivalve calyx and paler hue ; though it 
much resembles Lolium perenne. FI. Brit. Mr. Brunton states, that the 
florets are strongly ribbed more than half way down; a remark confirmed 
by Mr. Dawson Turner, who adds, that the nerves are most visible in 
young flowers, and disappear with age. Bot. Guide. 670. (Mr. Swayne 
calls this plant, (or a variety scarcely dissimilar,) F. hyhrida , from its 
constant infertility, proved by many years observation, and suspects it 
may originate from F. pratensis, F.jluitans , and. Lolium perenne. E.) 
Spiked Fescue Grass. (Welsh: Peisg-wellt tywysenaidd. E.) Moist 
meadows. (Common in Yorkshire and other counties; not very frequent 
about London. Anglesey. Welsh Bot. In a meadow on the banks of the 
Trent near Nottingham, Mr. Sinclair observed it to constitute the prin¬ 
cipal herbage. Meadow at the foot of Salisbury Craigs, and by the side 
of the walks in Hope Park, Edinburgh. Greville. P. June—July. E.)* * 
BRO'MUS.f Calyx two-valved : spikets oblong, cylindrical, 
two-rowed : awn beneath the point: ( Seed elliptic-oblong, 
united to the inner valve. E.) 
B. secali'nus. Panicle expanding; fruit-stalks undivided; spikets 
egg-shaped, compressed, with ten flowers ; florets distinct, cylin¬ 
drical. FI. Brit. Awns wavy, shorter than the glumes. Leaves 
slightly hairy. 
E.Bot. 1171 — H. Ox. viii. 7. 16—TVieg. 1. 2— Scheuch. 5.10— Cam. Epit. 927. 
( Straw three feet high, leafy, upright, undivided, cylindrical, smooth. 
Leaves strap-shaped; on the upper surface and particularly at the edges, 
hairy ; rough underneath. Sheaths smoothish. Sheath-scale short, bitten, 
hairy. Panicle scarcely half a foot long. Calyx unequal, awnless. 
Husks elliptical, smooth, three-nerved, membranous at the edge. Florets 
generally smooth, sometimes pubescent, whitish green, shining. FI. Brit. 
E.) Awns shorter than the blossom, not quite straight. Panicle branches 
rough, not hairy. Spikets six to ten-flowered. Blossom very strong and 
woody, not hairy, nor distinctly ribbed. 
(Smith observes that this species may easily be known by its broad, oval, 
compressed spikes, each consisting of not more than ten or twelve cylin¬ 
drical, rather remote florets, almost always smooth, and drooping as they 
ripen from the length of their foot-stalks, which are for the most part 
quite simple. Linn. Tr. E.) 
(Var 2. Spikets ten to fifteen-flowered; florets downy, (but not invariably 
so); awns as long as the glumes. 
* (This Fescue is superior to rye-grass in produce, and springs earlier; but the im¬ 
perfect seeds render its propagation almost impracticable, as its merits hardly warrant 
transplanting. Hort. Gram. E.) 
*f* (From fipivyci, food ; either for man or beast. E.) 
