107 
3) Various-leaved red fescue, Mestuca heterophylla, Lamarck. (Festuca rubra, subsp. 
heterophylla, Hackel). 
4) Alpine red fescue, Festuca violacea, Hackel. . (Festuca rubra, subsp. violacea, 
Hackel Monogr.) 
These four varieties are of exceeding importance in agriculture, The first and third are here 
treated more fully; the second is similar in character and agricultural yalue to the third. No experiments 
have as yet been made with the fourth variety. Two other varielies are known, they are: 
5) Flat leaved red fescue, estuca rubra, subsp. eu-rubra, var. panifolia, Hackel, 
with all the leaf-blades open and flat. 
6) Fine-leaved red fescue, Mestwca rubra, subsp. eu-rubra, var. trichophylla, Hackel. 
(Festuca trichophylla, Gaud.), with all the leaves folded and bristle-like. 
XX. Creeping fescue. 
Festuca rubra, l.. Festuca rubra, subsp. eu-rubra, var. genuina, Hackel. 
Fig, A. Entire plant in flower. 
1. Spikelet in flower. 
2. False fruit, ventral surface. 
,, 3. False fruit, dorsal surface. 
4. False fruit, side-view. 
5. Caryopsis, ventral surface. 
6. Caryopsis, dorsal surface. 
7. (Caryposis, side-view. 
8 ‘Transverse section of the blade and sheath of a young shoot, 
, 9. Transyerse section of the blade of a culm-leaf. 
, 10. The ligule of a culm-leaf. 
Botanical description. On the plate, the large-flowered form (sub-var. grandiflora, Hackel) of 
creeping fescue has a loose, stoloniferous mode of growth. The intra-vaginal shoots form small partial 
tufts. The extra-vaginal branches creep horizontally for variable distances, at times even bending down- 
wards. The whole plant is, therefore, formed of a number of partial tufts, bound together by under- 
ground branches (fig. A.) The culm is ascending and smooth: it rises to a height of from 48 to 
36 inches. The leaf- sheath is smooth and entire (fig. 8). The Jleaf- blades of the radical leaves are 
permanently folded and bristle-like, with 5 to 7 ribs (fig.9). On the under-surface of the leaf, beneath 
the epidermis, lie distinct bast-bundles, corresponding in number and position to the veins (fig, 8). 
The blades of the culm-leaves open out and have numerous veins. The upper surface is hairy with 
well-marked ribs corresponding to the veins. The epidermis between these ribs is composed of »bulli- 
form cells« (fig. 9). Distinct bundles of bast lie beneath the epidermis, both of the lower and upper 
surface; here also they correspond in number and position to the veins (fig. 9). The ligule is always 
glabrous; on the leaves of the barren shoots it is reduced to a mere border, while on the culm-leaves 
it is slightly eared (fig. 10). 
On flowering the branches of the panicle spread widely. The spikelet of the sub-var. grandiflora 
is 10 mm. long, in other sub-varities only 7 to 8 mm. Each spikelet contains from four to six flowers; 
the lower pales bear awns (fig. 4), The orary is glabrous. The fulse fruit (figs. 2 to 4) is 3 to 
5 mm. long without the awn, and has a glabrous stalk. The length of the caryopsis (figs. 5 to 7) 
varies between 2 and 3.5 mm., it is compressed ; the ventral surface shews a broad shallow furrow 
and a long hilum. 
Explanation 
of plate. 
Botanical 
description. 
