horizontal buds (Fig. 1 and 2). When the branches are intravaginal, it is necessary to remove the 
lower sheaths, in order to lay bare the buds which they conceal. my 
In considering the growth of tufted grasses it has also to be noted whether all the underground . 
portions of the branches are equal in length: some may be long, while others remain quite short. If 
all the underground portions of the branches are equal in length, and short, a close and compact tuft 
of grass is produced, and as all the branches spring from a common point, the tuft is simple e.g. 
Cocksfoot, Meadow Fescue, etc. 
If some of the underground portions of the branches become long, while others remain short, a 
compound tuft is produced. The whole is composed of a number of partial tufts, each of the latter 
springing from a different point of the rhizome. 
Compound tufts are of two kinds. When the elongated branches of the rhizome ascend directly 
above ground, the partial tufts at their ends come to occupy a higher level than the others, and, at 
the same time, all the parts are brought close together so that the whole stands outlike a cushion, 
forming compact, cushion-like tufts of grass e.g. Yorkshire Fog (with extravaginal branches) and, in 
a less degree, Italian Ryegrass (with intravaginal branches). When the elongated branches of the rhizome 
run horizontally or are only slightly oblique, the partial tufts are not so close together; the compound 
tuft is loose; the cushion-like appearance is not produced, and each part of the whole resembles a simple 
tuft of grass, e.g. Perennial Ryegrass. 
As will be pointed out later on the agricultural value depends largely on the mode of growth. 
The leaves spring from the nodes. They are arranged alternately so as to form two rows lying 
in a plane. This arrangement is technically known as alternate-distichous. 
The basal part of the leaf is tubular and forms a sheath surrounding the culm — the lea/- sheath. 
Usually it is split, but in many species e.g. Soft Brome, Cocksfoot, etc., it is entire. When split, the 
margins usually overlap one another; it is then described as rolled. 
The leaf- blade is linear and provided with parallel veins. Between the veins**) are depressions 
or furrows which vary much in breadth and depth (see the transverse sections of the leaf- blades on 
plates I—XI). The raised parts are called ribs. Usually the blade is spread out flat (Fig. 3). Species, 
which are adapted for dry localities have the blades either permanently folded or rolled up; the lower 
surface is then outermost, and the blade appears more or less cylindrical. Such blades are spoken of as 
bristle-like or setaceous (Fig. 5). By comparing Figs. 3 
and 5, the distinction between flat and bristle-like 
leaf-blades becomes very apparent. Fig. 4 represents 
an intermediate form of blade, known as concave. 
The culms and leaves may be more or less 
rough when pulled through the fingers or between 
the lips. This roughness depends upon the presence 
of hook-like outgrowths of the skin or epidermis, 
They are hard and glassy, containing a large amount 
of silica. According to the direction in which the 
Fig. 4. Fig. 5. 
Fig. 3—5, Transverse sections of leaf-blades, Fig. 3. 
Festuca pratensis (after Lund). Fig. 4. Festuea rubra. points of these hooks lie, the culm or leaf is desig- 
Fig. 5. Festuca ovina (4 and 5 after Hackel). nated as upwards rough or downwards rough: in the 
former case, the hook-points are felt when the hand is drawn upwards, in the latter, when drawn downwards. 
*) The same distinction may be made even though the sheaths from the axils of which the branches spring have 
withered away. The first leaf of a branch lies next the parent stem, from which the branch has been produced, and is 
a mere sheath without a blade. If the branch is intravaginal, this sheath is closely pressed against the parent stem and 
becomes very long, and two-keeled, like the upper pale pressed against the axis of the spikelet. If the branch is extra- 
vaginal, this sheath is quite short and the keels are wanting. 
*#) Very rarely the furrows lie over the veins, as in Cocksfoot, Pl. Ilf Fig. XII. 
Leaves. 
