O25
EB va
Cornell University Library
Dthara, New York
BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE
SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND
THE GIFT OF
HENRY W. SAGE
1891
ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY
NEw York STATE COLLEGES
OF
AGRICULTURE AND HuMAN EcoLocy
AT
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Ti
Cornell University
Library
The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924001738933
Poa annua, the Annual Meadow-grass ; flowering.
This Book is now published by
GEORGE ALLEN: & UNWIN, Lb.
Ruskin House,
40, MUSEUM STREET,
LONDON, W.C.
Poa annua, the Annual Meadow-grass ; flowering.
HANDBOOK OF GRASSES
TREATING OF THEIR
STRUCTURE, CLASSIFICATION, GEOGRAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION AND USES
ALSO DESCRIBING THE
BRITISH SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS
BY
WILLIAM HUTCHINSON
Dondon
.SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., Lim.
New York: THE MACMILLAN CO.
1910
First Edition, September 1895 ; Second Edition, March 1899; Third Edition 1906 ;
Fourth Edition, 1910.
PREFACE
Grasses are in three respects a remarkable family: they
possess many structural peculiarities which sharply define
them from all other kinds of plants; they are so abundant
and widely diffused as to constitute the dominant feature of
the landscape, not only in our own, but in most other coun-
tries ; and lastly, no other Order can at all compare with the
Gramineze in the variety and magnitude of their uses.
Yet the study of grasses, so far from being popular, is
shunned by many botanists in the belief that it is beset with
unusual difficulties ; farmers and graziers, to whom the cereal
and forage grasses are all in all, have rarely a scientific
acquaintance with them; while those observers of Nature, not
particularly interested in either botany or agriculture, are
hardly able to recognize two or three among the many species
which everywhere abound.
This little handbook is an endeavour to popularize the
study of grasses ; the peculiarities of the structure of grasses,
and the terms employed in describing these plants, are care-
fully explained ; the chapter descriptive of the British species
and their habitats is arranged with especial regard to con-
venience in field-work; and some definite information is
given regarding the geographical distribution of grasses and
their vast economic importance.
CONTENTS
FIELDWORK: INTRODUCTORY TO CHAPTER II . * . . .
CHAPTER I. STRUCTURE.
Embryonic grass-plant. — Germination. — Root-system, — Leaves, —
Culm,.—Inflorescence.—Spikelets. —-Glumes.— Flower.—Fruit . .
CHAPTER II. HABITATS AND DELINEATIONS OF BRITISH SPECIES,
Meadows and pastures.—Uplands, heaths, and moors.—Riversides,
ponds, and marshy places.—Woods, copses, and shrubby places,—
Seashore.—Cultivated fields.—Waste ae sandy and chalky fields.
—Mountains é . . . . . .
CHAPTER III. CLASSIFICATION,
Gramineze among other orders.—Primary division.—Tribes and genera
(British)—World’s tribes and important genera . oR F F
CHAPTER IV. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION,
Grass vegetation of different regions.—Distribution of leading genera
and of British species. —The cereal grasses : ancient distribution and
races; climatal limits; distribution and cultivation at the present
day . « * . . . . . . . . ‘ .
CHAPTER V. USES.
Food: The cereals as breadstuffs; alcoholic beverages; sugar ;
herbage and grains for animals.—Various arts and manufactures:
paper-making ; cordage; miscellaneous uses of bamboo and other
grasses ; medicinal uses ; Economy in Nature.—Ornament . :
INDEX TO CHAPTER II,
Latin names and synonyms,—English names. . ’ : 7
vi
ILLUSTRATIONS
Frontispiece : Poa annua, flowering.
Fic. 1. Grain of wheat : longitudinal section showing embryo. . .
», 2. Young shoot or stolon of a grass . ‘ i . . ‘ .
a 4 Bigules 3 F ‘ .
» 4 Transverse aeation of a leaf, ee snow vite and venation ‘ és
+» 5. Cross-section of culm, showing arrangement of tissues. i r
1, 6. Agrostis canina: panicled inflorescence. A ‘ . .
» 7 Poa pratensis ‘ , , “ . . * . . .
» 8. Holcus lanatus . ‘ 3 é A . a ‘ ‘ .
» g. The flower of grasses . F ‘ . ‘ 5 5 .
» Io, Anatropous ovule ‘ . . . .
», 11. Diagrams of grass-flowers, shawiig ayramietny : . . .
» 12. Cross-section of a grain, showing pericarp and testa . 8 .
» 13. Anthoxanthum odoratum . - . “ C a .
1-14. Bromus mollis: panicle ‘ y ; F F . . A
» 15. Dactylis glomerata é . ‘ ‘ . 2 é . .
1, 16, Cynosurus cristatus . ‘ ‘ ‘ r i i ‘ é
» 17. Festuca pratensis . : * ‘ é - . .
1, 18. Phleum pratense: panicle and enlarged spikelet . F ‘ a
», 19. Brisa media ‘ 3 , Fi 7 E 7 7 ri
» 20. Avena pratensis: portion of panicle showing three spikelets
» 21, Sesleria cerulea: capitate inflorescence and enlarged spikelet
», 22, Glyceria fluitans: lower portion of panicle and an enlarged
spikelet . c Fi ‘ , ‘ 3 ‘ :
1, 23. Agrostis alba : : i : = : : <
» 24. Catabrosa aquatica ‘ ‘ é a ri : .
1, 25. Brachypodium sylvaticum : inflorescence and enlarged ligule.
» 26. Melica uniflora . é : ‘ . F ‘ .
» 27. Glyceria distans . é ‘ . . . .
», 28, Aibora verna: plant and ented raceme , i ; . .
», 29. Lepturus filiformis . : ‘ 7 . . . . ,
1 30. Panicum sanguinale . ’. . . . . . . .
» 3I. Agropyrum repens P * « “ ‘ “ ‘ # *
», 32. Bromus sterilis . “ 4 ‘ r s . . .
»» 33 Brachypodium pinnatum: spike and enlarged ligule . * .
», 34. Fruiting glume of Dactylis glomerata . . ‘ . . .
» 35 Portion of fruiting panicle of Bromus mollis zi . . .
»» 36. Alopecurus pratensis . ‘ P * x ‘ . ‘
», 37- Deschampsia cespitosa . ‘ * “ . : x
» 38. Phragmites communis: portion of panicle and enlarged spikelets
» 39- Spike of wheat, showing notched rachis. .
» 40, Cross section of wheat-grain, showing its coats and the ‘endosperm
viii
HANDBOOK OF GRASSES
Field-work:
A FEW suggestions about field-work will serve as an introduction
to Chapter IJ., which deals exclusively with the grasses of our own
country. The identification of the numerous species may be a
difficult matter, or it may be comparatively easy ; this will largely
depend upon the way in which the tyro applies himself to the task.
The first essential is to get a clear understanding of the technical
terms employed. Chapter I., on Structure, should be attentively
perused, and afterwards referred to in every case of doubt. We
purposely omit a glossary, because its meagreness would be likely
to mislead.
In describing the British species, we have grouped them accord-
ing to their habitats, each group consisting of about a dozen
species, and these are described:in the order of their frequency
and abundance (the rarities always last), precisely as one may
expect to meet with them on botanical excursions. It is true that
some species do not confine themselves to any particular habitat ;
but these, with few exceptions, are only the grasses of our meadows
and pastures, and we start with this group in order that the begin-
ner may familiarize himself with them first and be able to recog-
nise them anywhere. Most of the other groups are perfectly
exclusive, ¢.g. the maritime, woodland and alpine grasses. The
species to be dealt with in any given habitat are thus restricted
to a small number, and still further limitation is afforded by the
flowering time of each species, more especially if the study be
commenced in spring or early summer. A midsummer meadow
bewilders the novice with its wealth of inflorescence, but in early
summer only a few flowering species claim notice. Poa annua
(frontispiece) is the first grass that will be found in flower on every
bit of waste ground, in gardens, by roadsides and footpaths ; it
begins to shoot up its panicles towards the end of March—quite a
month in advance of any other species, one or two rare ones
excepted. In meadows the spike-like panicles of Anthoxanthum
odoratum (fig. 13) and Alopecurus pratensis (fig. 36) are abundant
during the month of May, while the only woodland grasses that
H. G. B
2 HANDBOOK OF GRASSES
flower in spring are Afilium effusum and Medica (fig. 26). Nearly
half our grasses begin to flower in June, an equal number in July,
a few not till August ; some of the earlier species continue flower-
ing until autumn.
The scientific grouping of grasses, that is, according to their
affinities, will be found in Chapter III., to which the student
should make frequent reference. The secret of success in the dis-
crimination of grasses lies in being thoroughly conversant with the
tribal and generic characters. Suppose, for example, that a speci-
men of Poa annua be gathered ; after the student has examined it
and satisfied himself about its identity, he should refer to Chapter
III. and carefully note the tribal and specially distinctive generic
characters there given; he will then be able to recognise, as
belonging to this genus, all other species of Poa that he may meet
with.
For the examinaticn of grasses a pocket-lens, preferably a triple
one, will suffice ; but those who possess a microscope will find it
helpful in the examination of extremely minute parts. Tiny one-
flowered spikelets are rather troublesome to dissect with needles ;
if a thin slice be cut off the base of such spikelets, all the parts
will then fall asunder. An excellent plan is to make in one’s
note-book an enlarged drawing of the flower-cluster or spikelet, and
its different bracts or glumes (as in some of the illustrations) while
examining them with the lens; this will impress the important
characters on the mind as nothing else can, and if the name of the
species be appended to each sketch, always using the Latin names,
as they are more precise, the record thus made will be very con-
venient for future reference.
Owing to limited space our descriptions of the British species
are necessarily brief, and attention is called to the more distinctive
characters only. Of the manuals, Hooker’s Student's Flora of the
British Islands gives pretty full delineations ; those of Babington’s
Manual of Botany are shorter, but critically precise. Sowerby’s
English Botany, vol. xi., is devoted entirely to grasses, and con-
tains elaborate descriptions of both species and varieties, as well
as large coloured illustrations of all the species. We have noticed
all the well-marked varieties or sub-species, but the student will
bear in mind that in many cases there are transitional forms not
usually mentioned by botanical writers, who select the typical or
predominant form and the extreme varietal one. Besides these,
numerous varieties occur which are too slight for mention. All
varieties, however, are of interest as showing the influence of soil
and situation in causing variation.
Although in general aspect the leaves of grasses are much alike
—‘“a narrow, sword-shaped strip of fluted green ”—close inspec-
tion of them, including the sheaths, will reveal many minute
characters which, taken collectively, are sufficient for the identifi-
cation of the species, due regard being paid to habitats. The
student should not rest content until he is able to analyze the turf
of meadow, pasture and heath with facility, and to assist him in
FIELD-WORK 3
this, we have taken some pains in describing the leaves of the
commoner species. It is necessary to examine and compare the
leaves in a fresh state, and as most of our grasses are perennial,
this part of agrostological study may be prosecuted at all seasons
and when flowering specimens are not obtainable.
A collection of dried specimens is desirable for several reasons,
primarily for the purpose of reference and comparison at leisure,
and for proof of the identity of rare or local species ; it also affords
tangible evidence of one’s activity in the pursuit of a favourite
science, and recalls to memory many a pleasant ramble. Good
examples of average size, and truly representative of the species,
are most likely to be obtained in places where the plant grows in
abundance ; some grasses vary considerably when growing out of
their accustomed habitat. No specimen can be regarded as com-
plete without the root or rootstock, and this part of the plant is
sometimes of importance in enabling us to identify the species ;
the whole plant should therefore be taken up, and the creeping
underground stems, when present, exhumed without being broken
off; the roots should be washed quite clean on arrival home—an
apparently large mass can thus be greatly reduced. The flower-
clusters or spikelets of some grasses, particularly the Bromes and
Barleys, if gathered in full flower, are liable to fall to pieces when
dried ; it is better to gather such, and, indeed, nearly all grasses,
a few days before the flowers are ready to open, because if the
stamens are protruded, they fall off and get scattered throughout
the herbarium. The locality and habitat from which each speci-,
men is taken will of course be noted, as well as the date.
The method of preserving plants by drying them between sheets
of paper under pressure is so well known that very little need be
said on the subject here. Grasses are more easily preserved than
most other flowering plants, owing to the dry, chaffy nature of the
bracts investing the flowers. Care is required with the leaves, as
they are liable to shrink in width and roll up lengthwise; to
obviate this, place the specimens in the drying-sheets immediately
they are removed from the vasculum, and in arranging the drying-
sheets put narrow slips of blotting paper upon the leaves, or at
least upon two or three selected ones, until the thickness equals
that of the stems. Some grasses are very brittle when dry ; hence
moderately stiff paper is required for mounting. The neatest way
to secure them to the mounting-sheet is with strips of tough paper
looped over the stem and both ends passed through a perforation
in the sheet, then gummed to the back. When the specimen is
too large for the sheet, the stem has to be sharply bent upon itself.
After being mounted and named, the species may be arranged
according to the Manual that the student uses, or the London
Catalogue ; failing these, the genera may be arranged and num-
bered according to the synopsis in Chapter III. Keep the col-
lection in a dry but cool place ; warmth induces brittleness. _
Specimens of the fruit, and of the fruiting spikes or panicles,
may be gathered and kept in small envelopes,
CHAPTER I
Structure
WHILE perusing this chapter, the student should have before him
some flowering specimens of grasses, also some large grains, say
wheat, oats or barley, in order that he may verify our statements
by his own observation.
We propose to begin with the examination of the tiny grass-
plant in the seed, selecting a grain of wheat for the purpose of
illustration. Of the grain, regarded as a fruit, we shall speak later,
confining our attention at present to the living part or embryo,
which is very small in comparison to the mass of floury endosperm
stored up for its nourishment and forming the bulk of the grain.
The exact position of the embryo is indicated by a minute wrinkled
depression of the skin near the base of the grain (the apex is known
by its having a crest of short hairs), and on the dorsal side opposite
to the grooved or furrowed side. It is not embedded in the endo-
sperm, but lies on the outside of it immediately underneath the
skin. Before proceeding to examine the embryo, it is advisable to
soften the grain by soaking it in water for a few hours. The
embryo can then be easily detached, but the best way to observe
it is in a longitudinal section like that represented in the accom-
panying figure. Such a section is obtained by halving the grain
with a sharp knife lengthwise along the furrow. The embryo is
now seen to be much longer than broad, and situated rather
obliquely in respect to the axis of the grain. With the aid of a
lens we can clearly distinguish, in the upper portion, the plumule
with several leaf rudiments, the whole enclosed in a sheath known
as the cotyledon ; in the lower portion we recognise the radicle
or young root, invested also by a sheath (coleorhiza) ; both these
sheaths can best be seen in a grain that is germinating. The
embryo is completely separated from the endosperm by a broad
plate of tissue termed the scutellum (Lat. scz¢um, a shield), which
calls for special notice, as it is peculiar to grasses and performs an
important function at the time of germination. It is in organic
connection with the rudimentary stem, and, by means of various
ferments, dissolves the endosperm and then absorbs it for assimi-
lation by the embryo. A better view of the scutellum can be
obtained by detaching the embryo from a whole grain.
The phenomenon of germination is very interesting, and in
order to observe it, we may experiment with some of the larger
grains above-mentioned, also those of Phalaris canariensis, the
“canary-seed” used for feeding cage-birds. Place the grains in
GERMINATION AND ROOT-SYSTEM 5
soil that has been sterilized with boiling water, or in sawdust ; keep
very moist and in a warm temperature, say 70°-80° F., and they
will germinate in about a week. The first outgrowth is the coleo-
rhiza or root-sheath, from which i slender radicle or primary
root soon bursts, followed by two lateral roots ; as these burrow
into the soil, they become clothed with absorbent root-hairs.
Meanwhile, the plumule appears, completely sheathed by the im-
perforate cotyledon which thus protects it during early growth.
Here we have one of the characters of the Monocotyledons (plants
having only one cotyledon or seedleaf), as distinguished from the
other great class of
flowering plants, the
Dicotyledons, with two
or more seedleaves.
When the plumule
has grown to. the
height of an inch or
two, the first foliage-
leaf pierces the apex
of the cotyledonary
sheath, and emerges.
Presuming that we
have —_ experimented
with the grains of
Phalaris canariensis,
its pink - coloured
cotyledon will show in
beautiful contrast to
the first green leaf,
The young plant is
now able to provide
its own nourishment , FF or ee reece section {irene fe lower
though the store of a epelttenetis diane ee ape oe
endosperm is not yet grain, and separating the embryo below from the endos-
exhausted. If the perm above, and on the right; gv growing point of
. plumule, and c its sheath (cotyledon) ; ~ radicle ; cf root-
scutellum be examined cap; c¢Z root-sheath (coleorhiza) ; 44 rudimentary stem
at this stage, with a (uypecoty}): usa wagenley, pune goraneane typecc!
. with scutellum ; ce prismatic cells of scutellum ; 7% place
high power of the where the radicle emerges, corresponding to micropile of
microscope, we shall ovule.
find that its innermost
row of cells, which were at first prismatic in shape, now appear
as slender strands, their elongation having taken place in order
that they could remain in contact with the diminishing endosperm
and absorb it from the remotest parts of the grain. The scutel-
lum affords an absolute distinction between the Graminee or
grasses, and all allied orders or families. Although it never grows
out from the seed, it is in view of its function regarded by most
botanists as a part, and the chief part, of the cotyledon.
The primary root does not thicken into a taproot, and is soon
indistinguishable fram the numerous slender lateral roots which
6 STRUCTURE
are successively developed, and which branch very freely. The
dense network of fibres thus formed take a remarkably tenacious
hold of the surface-soil, and in meadows and pastures the roots of
different species interlace ; the result is a compact turf-sole, which
can be peeled off entire, as in the operation of paring. A charac-
teristic feature of grasses is that the branches of the rootstock,
secondary as well as primary, each terminating in a leafy shoot, all
originate close to the ground, and are extremely short ; this makes
the turf short and carpety. Reedlike grasses, on the other hand,
have the branches of the rootstock elongated and erect. In
many perennials the
branches of the root-
stock persist for an
indefinite time; in
others they die off
annually ; some are
barren, the others in
due season produce
flowering stems; the
leafy shoots of annuals
are all fertile; those
of biennials are barren
the first year and
flower the next; the
rootstock then per-
ishes. Another feature
of the branches of the
rootstock, and one
which explains their
remarkable vitality, is
that the growing point,
with its rudimentary
leaves, is not at the
apex ofthe leafy shoots,
but near their base,
within the cavity form-
a x a ee ee ee ed by the concentric
. 2.—A young shoot or stolon detached from the
parent, showing adventitious roots at thenodes, and scale- leaf-sheaths, 50 that
like leaves. when the turfis grazed
or trodden, the grow-
ing points escape injury, and fresh leaves are quickly produced.
The rootstock of grasses is often stoloniferous, the stolons
rooting freely at the nodes (fig. 2). It is not always possible to
draw a sharp distinction between subterranean and surface stolons ;
the former have acute scales (leafless sheaths) at the nodes, while
the latter have normally developed leaves. In some species the
subterranean stolons are only a few inches in length, and when
they have produced their leafy shoot are hardly distinguishable
from the ordinary branches of the rootstock. These short stolons
are mostly emitted in autumn and spring ; they form a uniform
LEAVES 7
turf as opposed to one that is tufty. The subterranean stolons of
some species, ¢.g. grasses of the seashore, and Agropyrum repens,
the couch of hedgebanks and arable lands, attain a very great
length and branch extensively underground, sending up leafy
shoots at intervals of a few nodes, and ultimately a terminal shoot.
Stoloniferous root-stocks are invariably perennial. The great
abundance of grasses is largely due to their well-developed root-
system, which enables them to supplant their rivals in the struggle
for existence. i
The leaves are solitary at each node and alternate; they have
a long cylindric sheath, which is split down the side opposite the
blade, and may be regarded as a very much compressed and in-
volute petiole. This split sheath is one of the characters by which
grasses are distinguished from the nearly allied family of sedges
with entire leaf-sheaths. The sheaths closely invest the stem and
give it a great amount of support ; at the same time they function-
ate as leaves. At the mouth of the sheath, ze. its junction with
the blade, there is a translucent tongue-
like projection close pressed to the stem;
this is known as the ligule (fig. 3).
Sometimes the leaf is auricled, the base y
of the blade being prolonged into a |
short tooth or spur on each side. In Ss |
form, the leaves are usually more or SS
less strap-shaped (linear), always simple 4
(undivided) and entire at their margins ; ‘oe 8B
occasionally they are bristle-like (setace- @ ‘|
ous). They may be flat, or folded in-
wards from the midrib (conduplicate), ; ‘
or both margins may be rolled inwards re en ee
(involute), Vernation is indicated by stem and leaf-blade.
the form of the sheaths; when these are-
compressed the leaves are conduplicate in bud; when the young
leaves are involute, the sheaths are round (terete). In some species
the leaves are flat when young but become involute when fully grown.
Some leaves taper gradually to the apex; others are suddenly
pointed ; others again are broadest near the middle (linear-lanceo-
late), tapering slightly to the base as well as more finely to the apex,
these characters being constant in each species. The midrib and
central part of the leaf are often sunk or depressed, so as to form a
groove or channel on the upper side, and a keel below. Venation
is always parallel, and the veins are often unequal, every alternate
one, third, or fourth, etc., being stouter than the others, which is best
seen by holding the leaf between the eye and the light. There
are often longitudinal ridges or ribs on the upper surface of the
leaf, usually one above each vein (fig. 4) ; these ribs vary consider-
ably in different species, as regards their number and prominence,
and may be flat, rounded or acute at the top ; sometimes they are
only perceptible as faint striations. Both surfaces of the leaf may
be hairy or downy; commonly the upper surface only is so.
8 STRUCTURE
Hairiness or pubescence of the leaves is not a constant character
in some species, but is less variable in respect to the lower sheaths.
The leaves are often rough to the touch (scabrid) on the upper or
both surfaces, and on the margins ; this is most readily detected
by the lips or tongue. Ifa scabrid leaf-margin be examined under
the microscope it will be seen to be finely serrulate or sawlike, the
asperities or minute teeth pointing towards the apex, The various
shapes of the ligule sometimes help us to discriminate allied
species ; it may be acute, or its apex may appear as if cut off
Fic. 4.—Outline transverse section (enlarged) of leaf of Lolium perenne, showing ribs
and venation. The dots represent fibrovascular bundles in cross-section.
abruptly (truncate) ; sometimes it is split down the middle (bifid),
or torn into shreds (laciniate) ; at other times it is scarcely more
than a margin at the mouth of the sheath, or it may be modified
as a ring or tuft of hairs.
The flowering stem of grasses, usually spoken of as the culm,
or popularly the straw, is quite distinctive of this order of plants,
being hollow except at the knots or nodes which are a solid mass
of fibres dividing the culm into a series of chambers. The culms
are solid in the young state, but as they grow in length, the ground
tissue of the centre ruptures, leaving only a thin ring to carry on
the elongation of the internodes. From this period, therefore, the
culm is fistular. In other respects, the structure of the culm is
similar to that of the stems of other monocotyledons. If we make
a very thin cross section through an internode of a culm and place
it under the microscope, we see (fig. 5) a large central cavity bounded
by cellular tissue (parenchyma) which is traversed longitudinally
by isolated strings of woody tissue (fibro-vascular bundles), often
disposed in two or more circles. Towards the outer part of the
stem the cells are modified in having their walls thickened and
hardened (sclerenchyma) ; these are often termed mechanical cells
because of their function, namely to give strength and rigidity to
the stem. A sheath of sclerenchyma surrounds each fibro-vascular
bundle. The latter, once formed, is not able to grow further in
thickness, having no longer any cambium or dividing-cells ; the
culm therefore does not increase in diameter. As the student is
no doubt aware, these definite or closed bundles, as they are
termed, are characteristic of all monocotyledons. Silica enters
largely into the composition of the superficial tissue of the stems
and leaves of grasses, as any one may demonstrate by using a
blowpipe, which will fuse the silica into vitreous globules. In the
mechanics of their structure, fistular culms exhibit much more
specialization than the hollow iron pillars of man’s contrivance for
STEM AND INFLORESCENCE 9
obtaining, with economy of material, the maximum of strength and
resistance to lateral strains, inasmuch as the cylinder formed by
the tissues of the culm has its wall radially graduated in strength
—vital tissue consisting of soft parenchyma and fibrovascular
bundles innermost ; outside of this a cylinder of sclerenchyma, and
at the periphery the silicified cells of the epidermis. The culms of
some bamboos have their mechanical cells and epidermis so hard
as to resist the blow of a hatchet. The closely investing leaf-
sheaths give a great amount of support to the stem which would
otherwise, in many cases, be unable to support its own weight.
The immense saving of tissue, re-
presented by the large central
cavity of the culms, enables them
to grow with great rapidity ; young
bamboos have been observed to
elongate 2-3 ft. in a day. A few
grasses are exceptional in having
the stems solid, eg. the genera
Glyceria and Saccharum. If we
examine a transverse section of the
stem of Saccharum officinarum,
the Sugar-cane, we find that the
fibrovascular bundles are most
numerous near the circumference,
the central part consisting mostly
of parenchyma, among which the
bundles are scattered sparsely.
The flowers of grasses are en-
veloped in smail scales or bracts
(glumes) which are imbricated or
overlapped so as to form little
spikes or clusters (spikelets). Thus
in fig. 14 there are thirteen spike-
lets represented; in fig. 26 there
are ten spikelets. These glumes
are the distinguishing feature of the
Glumace@, a well-marked division
of the Monocotyledous, and com-
prising, besides the grasses, a few
other orders, notably the Cyperacee,
sedges. The upper part of the stem
Fic. 5.—Transverse section of culm
of Phragmites communis (segment of
an internode, enlarged): C large cavity
of culm; o its centre; the innermost
(light-coloured) tissue is parenchyma in
which are embedded the isolated fibro-
vascular bundles, oval shaped, showing
cavities (two wood-vessels), and exter-
nally bast; the peripheral part of the
section (dark-coloured) is sclerenchyma,
s (mechanical cells), in which are em-
bedded smaller or imperfect bundles,
forming the axis of the inflores-
cence is called the rachis ; it is nearly always simple, z.e. undivided ;
but when two or more axes have a common insertion at the top of the
stem, the rachis is termed compound (fig. 30). ‘The simplest form
of inflorescence in grasses is the spike, each spikelet being sessile
(ze, without a stalk or pedicel) on the rachis, and usually seated in
notches or excavations (fig. 39) in two opposite rows (distichously)
and alternately. More commonly the spikelets are borne on
slender hairlike branches of the rachis, which have generally an
alternate half-whorled insertion, and these branches are often
10 STRUCTURE
divided and sub-divided, forming the graceful airy panicle so char-
acteristic of grasses (fig. 6). The ultimate branches of the panicle
are of course the pedicels of the spikelets, and the number of spike-
lets contained in this paniculate form of inflorescence is often
immense. In the raceme, an intermediate form of inflorescence,
each spikelet has its pedicel inserted directly upon the rachis. The
panicle may be pyramidal (figs. 7, 8, 37), or oblong (fig. 14), or
cylindric (fig. 18), lax (figs. 19-26), or dense (figs. 18-21), spread-
ing in all directions, or one-sided (unilateral). In some cases the
branches of the rachis are so short that the inflorescence resembles
a spike (figs. 13, 16); such a panicle is termed spikelike. Especi-
ally is thisso with the genera PAleum and Alopecurus (figs. 18, 36,)
which have such a dense contracted panicle that the extremely
short branches are quite con-
cealed. The inflorescence in
its rudimentary state—a clus-
ter of papilla, each a rudi-
mentary spikelet — will be
found, some weeks before the
flowering season, within the
leafy shoots, close to their
base, and immediately above
the uppermost node.
The spikelets vary in shape
from orbicular (nearly round)
to narrowly-elliptical and tap-
ering (lanceolate), or cylindri-
cal; most commonly they are
egg-shaped (ovate). They are
often laterally compressed, z.e.
flattened at the sides of the
glumes, but in most Pazicacea,
they are somewhat dorsally
LAr adi F fants a panies & compressed. When of varying
alkeles closed csikelet open, showing the diameter, but not compressed,
so that a cross-section made
at any point is round, they are described as terete. Let us now
dissect a spikelet like that in fig. 7 (upper figure). The glumes,
six represented in this figure, are sessile on a slender axis (rachilla)
which is concealed, and are arranged distichously, z.2. in two
opposite rows, and alternately in harmony with the phyllotaxis of
the leaves of the stem. The pair of apparently opposite glumes at
the base of the spikelet are empty ; each of the others, called
flowering glumes in contradistinction to the empty ones, bears in
its axil, and envelops or embraces at its edges, another bract termed
the palea (lower figure). Within the flowering glume and palea,
and partly concealed by these, is the solitary sessile flower which
we shall describe presently. None of these bracts form any part
of what are technically known as floral envelopes. As the two
empty glumes are inserted one slightly above the other, we speak
SPIKELETS AND GLUMES II
‘of the upper and lower ; similarly the palea is not exactly on the
same plane as the following glume. And here we must explain an
unfortunate variance in terminology; some botanists call the
flowering glume a palea, and then speak of the upper and lower
palez, which the student will bear in mind when consulting the
descriptive works of different authors.
A spikelet may contain one or any number of flowers; that taken
by way of illustration is four-flowered. One-flowered spikelets are
very common, ¢.g. in the tribes Agrostidee and Panicea. The
terms empty and flowering glumes are employed in their literal
sense; some glumes are, strictly
speaking, neither empty nor flower-
ing, as they have a palea in their
axil, but no flower; these abortive
glumes occur commonly in the Pan-
tcace@. As the flower is solitary in
the axil of its glume, it is obvious
that the number of flowering glumes
in any spikelet always corresponds
to the number of flowers. Cases
where there are no empty glumes
at the base of the spikelet are very
exceptional ; but we have two British
examples in Mardus and Leersta,
while in Lo/zum we have an instance
of only one empty basal glume. On
the other hand, spikelets often con-
tain more than two empty glumes,
and these additional ones are situ-
ated either immediately above the
two basal glumes or at the apex of
the spikelet. For example, in Aa-
thoxanthum odoratum (fig. 13), the
third and fourth glumes are empty
as well as the first and second; in ™™,
the many-flowered spikelets of the | Fic. 7—Poa pratensis: panicle to
ets the left, enlarged spikelet above;
Poaceg it is nearly always the upper- below, flowering glume, palea and
most or terminal glume thatis empty flower, more enlarged.
or abortive; in the Panzcacee the
third glume is usually abortive. The additional empty glume,
whether in the upper or lower part of the spikelet, is often rudi-
mentary, or merely represented by a stalk or pedicel. All such
variations in the structure of the spikelet are important in classifi-
cation, and the student will require to carefully observe them.
Sometimes there is a tuft of hairs at the base of each flowering
glume, on the rachilla; when these hairs are tangled, as in the
genus Poa, the glumes are said to be webbed.
The glumes are more or less boat-shaped, thin but firm in
texture, green, or tinged with brown or purple. They are very
yarjously modified, and afford valuable characters for determining
12 STRUCTURE
the genera and species; more especially is this so with the flower-
ing glume. The glumes are always nerved, ze. with unbranched
veins, the central or dorsal nerve usually stronger than the lateral
ones. The glumes may either be rounded on the back, or com-
pressed and keeled, the keel being formed by the prominence of
the dorsal nerve on the outer surface. The nerves vary in num-
ber—one, three, five, etc., always an odd number—and either run
parallel, or converge as they approach the apex of the glume; some-
times they slightly project beyond the apex (excurrent), (fig. 21), or
they may vanish below it. The glumes may be hairy or downy on
the outer surface, or scabrous along the nerves. The two empty
glumes at the base of the spikelet
often differ from each other, as well
as from the flowering glume, both
in size and in the number of nerves
(fig. 27).
The fine hair or bristle which is
often present on the flowering glume
is called the awn. It maybe simply
a prolongation of the dorsal nerve
(figs. 16, 18), or it may be inserted
at some point along that nerve (figs.
8, 36), or it may arise from the base
of the glume, and is denominated
terminal, dorsal, or basal, according-
ly. It varies in length in different
species, and may be smooth or, as
is often the case, scabrid. When
the tip of the glume is split (bifid)
or notched, the awn arises from the
bottom of the notch or sinus, and is
styled subterminal. Sometimes the
awn is sharply bent (geniculate or
é Hac Beatie she a ue kneed) as in the Oat, and the part
feo, the sate ait sinptye plumes below the knee spirally twisted ; the
removed to show dorsal awn of upper awn is then hygroscopic, the torsion
flowering glume. increasing or diminishing with the
varying humidity of the atmos-
phere. This hygroscopic movement can readily be observed by
placing a few glumes so awned into water, or upon a wet surface.
In one exotic genus, Avés/¢da, the awn is compound, having three
forks or branches ; another exotic genus, Pappophorum, is remark-
able in having the flowering glume armed with a dozen or more
awns. Generally speaking, the lateral nerves of the flowering
glume are not sufficiently excurrent to form awns. In many cases
the dorsal nerve too is only slightly excurrent, forming a short
point or mucro (fig. 31). The empty glumes are, as a rule, either
mucronate or awnless; Hordeum and Polypogon are familiar ex-
ceptions, having long-awned empty glumes. The Panzcacee, one
of the primary series into which grasses are classified, are in-
FLOWER i
variably characterized by imperfect awns which can hardly be
considered more than mucros. The two-nerved palea is peculiar
to grasses, as distinguished from the other glumaceous orders, and
is never absent, unless we except the tribe Oryzee and Phalaridea,
which have a one- instead-of a two-nerved scale in the axil of the
flowering glume.
We, have now to describe the flower (fig. 9). As already re-
marked, neither glumes nor palea constitute what are botanically
known as the floral envelopes. The perianth of the grass-flower is
very rudimentary indeed ; it consists of two or three colourless
scales (lodicules) which are so exceed-
ingly minute that they can hardly
be detected with the naked eye, and,
unlike the perianth of most other
flowering plants, they are of very little
service to us in the classification of
the Order, the Bambusee excepted.
Hence the various modifications of the
glumes have all the more importance. yy. 9A. erasefower (Pea)
The lodicules are hypogynous (z.¢. showing globular ovary with 2
situated beneath the ovary), and may odicules at its base, 3 stamens,
be entire or bifid, or fringed at the thagnifed, es OTEY
edges. The stamens, also hypogynous,
are usually three in number; they have a Jong filament and a
large, linear or oblong anther, which is notched at the ends, as
the two lobes do not cohere throughout; it is pendulous and
attached at the back (dorsifixed) to its filament by a joint, so that
it is versatile, swinging as on a pivot. The pistil consists of a
very minute more or less globular ovary,
surmounted by two styles, each branching
into a comparatively large feathery stigma.
The ovary, although formed of two car- k
pellary leaves (indicated by the two styles ¢
and stigmas), is one-celled, ze. with a
single cavity, and contains only one ovule,
which is basal and erect, or nearly so, but em
inverted (anatropous) upon its stalk or \
raphe (fig. 10). ; ai
The symmetry of the grass-flower is ii
rather obscure. Theoretically, the grass- Rom
flower is made up of ternate whorls, ze. f
each whorl or circle of floral organs con- yg. 19,—Inverted ovule:
sists of three members or a multiple of that /funicle; x raphe; az and #
number, these members alternating one pia akon aed Bete
with another in the different whorls. O embryo-sac. *Much magnified.
the four series of organs which constitute a
typical flower—calyx, corolla, stamens (andreecium), and _pistil
(gynzcium)—the first is always absent in grasses, and the other
whorls are often incomplete. The common type of grass-flower is
shown diagrammatically in fig. 11 B. It has only three whorls ;
2
14 STRUCTURE
the outermost consists of two lodicules placed at the anterior side
of the flower, z.e. furthest from the axis or rachilla, the posterior
lodicule being aborted or suppressed; three stamens constitute the
middle whorl, while the innermost whorl consists of two carpellary
leaves united into a single-celled ovary, which still retains two
styles and stigmas. Suppression of the anterior stamen may occur,
as in Anthoranthum odoratum and some of the Bromes ; some-
times the two posterior stamens are suppressed, as in Festuca
a
Fic. 11.—Diagrams of grass-flowers showing symmetry. Explanation of symbols:
outside dot represents the axis (rachilla) ; the circles=whorls, and the dcts on circles=
missing members ; crescentic marks=lodicules, the kidney-shaped=stamens ; the inner-
most symbol with its half-circles represents stigmas, and its cavity the ovary. A Flower
of Bambusa with outermost whorl missing, but full complement of members in the other
whorls. 8 Common type of grass-flower with several members absent ; one stamen is
anterior (next the flowering glume), the other two are posterior (against the palea).
myurus.' The flowers of the genus Bamdbusa (bamboos), fig. 11 A,
are perfectly regular, having three lodicules, six stamens, and three
stigmas, the formula being Ko, C3, A3+3, G(3). If we regard the
flower of the Lily family (K3, C3, A3+3, G3) as typical of Mono-
cotyledons, and compare with it the flower of Bamdusa, we find
that the latter only differs in having the outermost perianth whorl
of three segments suppressed, and in the innermost (fifth) whorl
being modified by the carpellary leaves uniting to form a unilocular
instead of a three-celled ovary.
As a rule the flowers of grasses are bisexual or perfect ; although
there are many instances of one or more imperfect (usually male)
flowers in the same spikelet with bisexual ones, e.g. Arrhenatherum
and Panicum. In tropical and subtropical regions, we sometimes
find a complete separation of the sexes, as in Zea mays whose
spikelets are always unisexual, those in the upper part of the in-
florescence containing stamens only, the lower spikelets female.
In most grasses, the flowering glume diverges widely from the
palea at the time of flowering, the anthers become pendulous, and
the stigmas protrude one at each side of the flowering glume. In
other cases the divergence or opening is just sufficient to let the
anthers and stigmas emerge at the apex, either simultaneously or
the stigmas first. The pollen cannot be scattered upon the stigmas
of the same flower, when the anthers are pendulous, and its trans-
ference from one flower to another (cross-fertilization) is effected
by the wind. A little reflection will show that the peculiarities of
the structure of: the grass-flower are all an extreme adaptation to
FRUIT 1§
this anemophilous mode of pollination. The flowers are incon-
spicuous ; the perianth (which in most other plants whose flowers
are pollinated by insects, is large, brightly coloured, and so attrac-
tive) is in grasses which do not require the services of insects,
reduced to microscopic size, and the flowers are protected by green
uninviting bracts ; the large anthers contain a copious quantity
of pollen for dispersion broadcast, and the
large feathery stigmas readily catch the pollen
grains as they are wafted on the wind; more-
over, as the grass-flower has only one ovule,
asingle pollen grain suffices for its fertiliza-
tion. Pollination is thus amply provided for ;
and a second staminal whorl, being unneces-
sary, is usually suppressed.
The process of fertilization of the ovule,
which takes place quickly after pollination,
is the same in grasses as in all other Azgéo-
spermts, Ze. plants whose ovules are enclosed
in an ovary. The seed is ordinarily matured
in the course of three or four weeks, the wall
of the ovary becomes thin and dry, but ad-
heres firmly to the solitary seed, and con-
stitutes the pericarp (fig. 12). Such a fruit is
termed a grain or caryopsis ; for, convenient
though it be to speak of the grains as seeds,
this 1s not botanically correct. The cary-
opsis is very similar to the nut, but differs
from it in having the pericarp adherent. The
pericarp does not rupture until germination
takes place; in other words, the fruit is ‘in-
dehiscent. Sporobolus is one of the rare in-
Vitti)
Se
Fic. 12.—Cross-section
stances of a free pericarp which, in this genus,
splits into two portions or valves to allow the
seed to escape. The seed has a very thin
coat or testa (fig. 12, 27 and z), and contains
an unusually large quantity of endosperm.
The position of the embryo, in relation to
the endosperm, we have already noticed at
the beginning of this chapter. It will be
observed that in consequence of the inversion
of the ovule, the radicle of the embryo is
directed towards the base of the grain.
through the pericarp and
testa of a grain (x 240);
ep epicarp; ¢ outér layers,
and ch/ chlorophyll layer,
together constituting the
pericarp; 7, remains of
the ovular integuments,
and 2, layer of nucellus,
form the testa ; aZ outer-
most layer of endosperm
cells.
We shall have something
to say about the endosperm as a nutrient substance, when treating
of the uses of grasses. In form, the grain may be ovoid, oblong,
or spindle-shaped ; it has often a longitudinal groove on one side,
corresponding to the place where, in the development of the flower,
the edges of the carpellary leaves cohered (the ventral suture) to
form the ovary.
The fruit is liberated in various ways. When the inflorescence
is a jointed spike, as in Hordeum and Lepturus, the rachis (axis of
16 STRUCTURE
inflorescence) breaks up at the joints or nodes, and each internode
as it breaks off carries away with it a spikelet enclosing the fruit.
In those grasses which have many-flowered spikelets, like Poa and
Bromus, the rachilla (axis of the spikelet) is jointed, and its inter-
nodes break away separately, each with a fruiting glume attached
(fig. 34). One-flowered spikelets often drop off the pedicel entire,
eg. Alopecurus and Panicum. Very frequently the grain adheres
permanently to the palea, and sometimes also to the flowering
glume; but whether adherent or free, it is nearly always enclosed
in both, and as the fruiting glume retains the distinctive characters
of the flowering glume, the fruits of the different species can be
discriminated from each other by means of these spurious cover-
ings. The fruit of the Bromes, for example, is distinguished by
the apical notch and the straight subterminal awn of the fruiting
glume (fig. 32) ; that of the Oat-grasses by the long geniculate and
twisted dorsal awn (fig. 20) ; that of Amthoxanthum is enclosed in
the second pair of empty glumes (fig. 13). . When the entire spikelet
falls off, as in Panzcum, all the glumes persist around the fruit. In
some grasses the fruiting glume has a tuft of hairs at the base, as
in Calamagrostis, Ammophila, and Deschampsia. In Poa these
hairs are cobwebby (arachnoid). Sometimes, eg. Phalaris,
Panicum, and Milium, the fruiting glume becomes hard and
polished. Many other examples could be cited, and the student
who acquires a thorough knowledge of the distinctive characters
of the flowering glume, will have no difficulty in discriminating the
so-called seeds of the different species.
Enveloped in one or more light chaffy glumes, the fruit is nicely
equipped for wind-dispersal ; for evidence of the colonizing powers
of our meadow and pasture grasses, we have only to examine a
piece of naked or mossy ground in autumn or spring, and we shall
find hundreds of seedling grasses. Long, bent and twisted awns,
like those of Sta and Avena, are able to bury the fruit. The
former are not native grasses, but the long feathery awns of S.
pennata may often be seen in bouquets of dried grasses. Glumes
awned in this manner are usually barbed at the base with stiff
hairs, and the curvature and hygrometric movement of the awn,
after the fruit has fallen to the ground, gives a screwing motion to
the fruit, which thus bores its way by degrees into the soil or works
into crevices. Sta spartea, a North-American grass, misuses
the power that Nature has endowed it with; its long awns fix
themselves in the wool of sheep and penetrate the flesh. Wind is
the universal disseminator of grass-fruits, but those with scabrid
glumes or awns often adhere to the fur and feathers of animals
and birds, and are thus transported to fresh localities. Migratory
birds carry the grains, embedded in mud on their feet, over the
sea to neighbouring islands and to other continents. Man himself
undesignedly acts as a disseminator, by sowing weed-grasses along
with cereal and other crops in a tilled soil, where they flourish and
cannot be extirpated. Hence it is that certain agrarian species of
grasses are found in every part of the civilized world.
PRUPAGALLUN 17
Grasses propagate themselves very largely, of course, by means
of subterranean stems, and those species which creep extensively
underground are usually characterized by a paucity of flowering
stems. Another mode of perpetuation, but much less frequent, is
by means of leafy buds which are produced on the spikelets in
place of sexual organs; they eventually fall to the ground, and
under favourable conditions strike root. These viviparous forms
are usually found on mountains where meteorological conditions
are adverse to the pollination of flowers. One of our lowland
species, Cynosurus cristatus, may sometimes be seen in a vivi-
parous state in meadows and pastures; it is of special interest in
this connection, because the young plants are borne on the flower-
less spikelets.
H. G. Cc
CHAPTER II
British Species
THE grasses that we shall first describe are those which constitute
the mass of the verdure of our meadows and pastures. With the
exception of the last three or four, the species comprising this
group are very abundant in all parts of Britain. Festuca durius-
cula, Lolium perenne, Dactylis glomerata, Poa pratensis and P.
trivialis, Cynosurus cristatus, Holcus lanatus, and Agvostis vul-
garzs, flourish in various other habitats, besides meadows and
pastures — by roadsides, in waste places and on heathy uplands
—and are apparently indifferent both to soil and situation, ex-
cepting Agrostis vulgaris and Poa
pratensts which are partial to dry
ground, and Poa ¢rivialis which
luxuriates in damp places. The
first five species above-named, and
Anthoxanthum odoratum, are also
common in woods.
Anthoxanthum odoratum, the
Sweet-scented Vernal-grass (fig. 13),
is the first of our perennials to flower.
The rootstock is tufted; leaves flat,
tapering above, usually hairy on both
surfaces, dull light green; auricles
minute, roundish, or reduced to hair-
tufts ; ligule truncate. Culms about
a foot high. Panicle spike-like,
with extremely short branches, rather
| uneven below, 2-2} inches long, yel-
J’ lowish-green. Spikelets 4 inch long,
terete, 1-flowered; second empty
glume much larger than the lowest,
: $6 , and as long as the spikelet ; third
tunes pie Manerantin dere. and fourth glumes empty, dorsally
enlarged spikelet, above; below, to awned, brown and hairy ; awns un-
left, the same with two lowest empty equal, the longer bent, twisted, and
glumes removed; below, to right, z f 5 .
flowering glume and palea, much SOMetimes slightly exceeding the tip
magnified. of the spikelet; flowering glume
; minute, awnless; stamens, two.
This grass is fragrant when bruised or withering, and imparts an
18
MEADOWS AND PASTURES 19
agreeable scent to hay : its flavour is bitter and aromatic. Flower-
ing from early May to July.
Alopecurus pratensis, the Meadow Foxtail (fig. 36), comes next
into flower. ‘The rootstock has very short stolons; leaves flat,
rather broad, tapering above, with flattish ribs, pale green ; ligule
truncate, scarcely as long as broad ; basal sheaths purplish-brown.
Culms 2-3 ft. Panicle spike-like, cylindric, dense, 2-3 inches long,
obtuse at both ends, pale green and'silky. Spikelets about } inch
long, compressed, 1-flowered ; empty glumes united at the base,
and the keel fringed with long, soft hairs ; .
flowering glume with a bent dorsal awn
twice its length; no palea. Perennial,
flowering from middle of May to August.
Bromus molizs, the Soft Brome (fig. 14),
is a tufted annual or biennial. The culms
are 1-2 feet high ; leaves flat, rather broadly
linear-lanceolate, greyish-green. All parts
of the plant are clothed with soft hairs.
Panicle erect, rather compact, with short
branches, some of which bear only one
spikelet. Spikelets 4-$ inch long, conical
above; greyish-green, 6- to 10-flowered ;
glumesclosely imbricate, pubescent ; flower-
ing ones broad, rounded on the back, and
with the margin distinctly obtusely angular
above the middle, notched at the tip, and
with a sub-terminal, straight awn about
their own length ; nerves of palea ciliated ;
upper part of ovary hairy, and styles lat-
eral. Flowering from the latter part of
May to August. Starved states of 2B.
mollis, with culms a few inches high, and
only 2-3 spikelets, or even a solitary one,
may often be seen in dry places.
Poa pratensis, the Smooth Meadow-grass
(fig. 7), has an extensively creeping root- x
stock producing numerous stolons. Leaves \
flat, rather narrowly linear, keeled, but not :
evidently ribbed, bright green; sheaths Se 14.— Bromus mollis:
smooth ; ligule obliquely truncate. Culms, :
1-2ft.,smooth. Panicle pyramidal and diffuse, with a slightly droop-
ing apex, and often tinged with purple ; branches, 3-5 at each inser-
tion. Spikelets 3 inch long, generally 4-flowered ; glumes all com-
pressed, keeled and awnless, the dorsal nerve running up to, but not
exceeding, the tip; flowering glumes webbed, with five distinct
nerves, three of which are hairy. Perennial, flowering early June,
July. Var. P. augustzfolta, found in woods and shady places, has
longer narrow leaves. Var. P. strigosa has narrow and ultimately
involute leaves, and the panicle is closed after flowering : wall-tops
and stony places.
20 BRITISH SPECIES
Festuca duriuscula, the Hard Fescue, is readily distinguished
from the other grasses of our meadows and pastures by its leaves,
which are subsetaceous (almost bristle-like) and dark-green ; those
springing from the rootstock are conduplicate, and when forcibly
unfolded show three prominent ribs ; the culm-leaves are nearly flat ;
ligule obsolete, except for two very minute auricles. The rootstock
is more or less tufted, and shortly stoloniferous. Culms, 13-2 feet.
Panicle somewhat unilateral, with short, spreading branches.
Spikelets about 3 inch Jong, purplish, and often glaucous, 5- or 6-
flowered ; empty glumes unequal ; flowering ones narrow, rounded
on the back, and tapering into a
very shortawn. Perennial, flower-
ing mid-June, July.
Lolium perenne, the Perennial
Rye-grass, has a tufted rootstock,
not creeping. Leaves narrow,
tapering from the base, keeled, with
prominent ribs, rather glaucous
above, deep-green, smooth and
shining beneath, auricled; sheaths
compressed and young leaves con-
duplicate ; basal sheaths bright red.
Culms 14-2 feet. Spikelets about
4 inch long, 6- or more flowered,
and sessile edgewise, one in each
notch ofthe rachis, forming a some-
what zigzag spike 4-8 inches long.
There is only one empty glume at
the base of each spikelet (the ter-
minal spikelet excepted) ; flower-
ing glumes obtuse, rounded on the
back, as long as the empty one,
sometimes awned (var. arzstatumt).
y In some examples the rachis is
_ very short, and the spikelets
Fic. 15.—Dactylis glomerata: lower Crowded. Perennial, flowering from
left-hand figure an enlarged spikelet ; on middle of June to autumn.
right hand flowering glume, palea, and Dactylis glomerata the Rough
flower, more enlarged. ?
Cocksfoot (fig. 15), has a densely
tufted rootstock, the basal part very stout, compressed, and colour-
less. Leaves long and rather broad, gradually tapering, condupli-
cate when young, afterwards flat, faintly ribbed or striated, and
prominently keeled, bluish-green ; ligule long, acute. Culms 2-3
feet. Panicle stiff, unilateral, with a few alternate branches, the
lower of which are remote, purplish. Spikelets about } inch long,
compressed, and 3- or 4-flowered, crowded into dense, one-sided
clusters at the extremities of the branches ; flowering glumes with
a ciliate keel, and a short, scabrid awn. In dwarf specimens the
panicle is often reduced toa single cluster. Perennial, flowering
from the latter half of June to autumn.
MEADOWS AND PASTURES 21
Poa trivialis, the Roughish Meadow-grass, so closely resembles
P. pratenszs that the novice is not likely at first sight to notice any
difference. The absence of subterranean stolons in the former is
an unequivocal distinction. Rootstock tufted, not creeping. Leaves
flat, narrow, tapering gradually from the base, keeled, not ribbed,
slightly rough on both surfaces and on the margins; sheaths also
roughish, which is discovered by drawing them downwards through
the fingers ; ligule long and pointed. Culms 13-2 feet. Panicle
pyramidal, diffuse, erect, and pale green, the branches 5-6 at each
insertion. Spikelets about 4 inch long, usually 3-flowered ; glumes
as in P. pratensis, the flowering glumes with five distinct nerves,
the dorsal one hairy. Perennial, flowering
middle of June, July. Var. 2. Kelerz,
found in woods, has smooth sheaths. Var.
P. parvifiora is a slender plant, with the
spikelets 1- or 2-flowered.
Cynosurus cristatus, the Crested Dogstail
(fig. 16), has a rather tufted rootstock, with
numerous short stolons. Leaves flat, short,
and narrow, tapering from the base, ribbed
and keeled, bluish-green above, shining
beneath, without auricles; basal sheaths
yellow. Culms a foot or more high.
Panicle spikelike, linear, unilateral, 2-3
inches long, stiff. Spikelets about ¢ inch
long, in pairs; the uppermost spikelet of
each pair 2- to 5-flowered, the other spike-
let sterile, consisting of about eight empty
mucronate glumes. This dual character of
the spikelets distinguishes Cynosurus from
all other British grasses. Flowering glumes
rounded on the back, 3-nerved, scabrid in
the upper part, and tipped with a very
short awn. The flowerless spikelets are
sometimes viviparous. Perennial, flower- pig. 16,—Cynosuruscrista:
ing from close of June to August. tus ; figures to left enlarged,
Holcus lanatus, the Meadow Soft-grass_ the lower one a pair of spike-
(fig. 8), has a densely tufted rootstock, never jts lume and pale
creeping. Leaves flat, rather broadly linear-
lanceolate, velvety and whitish-green with the soft hairs clothing
both surfaces; ribs uneven, some being prominent, others very low ;
basal sheaths white, with red veins—a peculiarity by which the
plant is easily identified when not in flower. Culms, 1-2 feet.
Panicle with short branches, mostly in pairs, spreading at the
time of flowering; at once recognised by its colour—pale green
or white, suffused with pink. Spikelets + inch long, downy, con-
taining two flowers, the lower of which is perfect and its glume
awnless, the upper flower pedicelled, staminate, its glume having a
dorsal awn, which reaches to the tip of the spikelet, and ultimately
curves into a hook; flowering glumes smooth and shining. Per-
22 BRITISH SPECIES
ennial, flowering from end of June to autumn. Often called York-
shire Fog.
Festuca pratensis, the Meadow Fescue (fig. 17), has a loosely
tufted and shortly-stoloniferous rootstock. Leaves flat, gradually
tapering, with equal, rounded, smooth ribs and roughish margins,
auricled ; shot with yellow in transmitted light; ligule very short ;
basal sheaths brown or reddish-purple. Culms 2 feet. Panicle
turned to one side, and the branches in pairs, one branch bearing
several spikelets, the other bearing but one spikelet. Spikelets
half an inch or more in length, tinged with brown, 8- or 9-flowered;
flowering glumes rounded on the back, mucronate, or the mucro
often absent, owing to the dorsal
nerve barely extending to the tip.
Perennial, flowering close of June,
July. Var. F. dolzacea, the Spiked
Fescue, has the spikelets almost
sessile on the rachis, and may easily
be passed over as an example of
Lolium.
Trisetum flavescens, the Yellow
Oat, is abundant on heathy uplands,
as well as in meadows and pastures,
particularly where the soil is calcare-
ous. Rootstock with slender stolons.
Leaves narrow, flaccid, tapering
finely, hairy on both surfaces, and
with ciliate margins, light green;
Jower sheaths clothed with spreading-
deflexed hairs; ligule very short.
Culms 1-14 feet. Panicle spreading,
with numerous short branches, 5-6
at each insertion; at first it is
greenish-yellow, then bright yellow,
YF when it is easily recognised, glossy,
Fic. 17.—Festuca fei) figs Spikelets + to 4 inch long (much
ee ee a ge smaller than those of our other Oats),
etc, oblong or wedge-shaped, and com-
pressed, 3- or 4-flowered ; flowering
glumes keeled and bifid, ze. the tip split into two segments, each
of which is terminated by a short seta or bristle; the flowering
glumes have also a slender kneed and twisted dorsal awn nearly
twice their length. Perennial, flowering early part of July, August.
Agrostis vulgaris, the Fine Bent, has a rootstock more or less
tufted, and sometimes stoloniferous. Leaves flat, short and narrow,
tapering from the base, not keeled, dull green; sheaths smooth:
ligule truncate. Culms 1-14 feet. Panicle with numerous hair-like
triply-forked branches which are diffuse both in flower and fruit.
Spikelets J; to 7; inch long, purplish-brown and shining, 1-flowered;
empty glumes narrow and acute, the lower one with the upper part
of the keel scabrid ; flowering glume hyaline, truncate, and usually
MEADOWS AND PASTURES 23
awnless. Perennial, flowering early July to Autumn. Var. 4,
nigra has erect, taller stems, and is more robust: sheaths and
panicle rough, and the truncate ligule rather long.
Phleum pratense, the Common Catstail or Timothy-grass (fig. 18).
is common in England, but less so in Scotland and Ireland. Root-
stock tufted ; var. stolonzferum with numerous stolons. Leaves
flat, tapering above, with low, flat, uneven ribs and rough margins,
greyish-green ; ligule truncate, toothed. Culms 14 feet. Panicle
spikelike, cylindric and dense, 3-6 inches long. Spikelets } inch
long, compressed, 1-flowered ; empty glumes truncate, with a rigid
scabrous terminal awn not quite half their length, the keel ciliated
with long, stiff hairs; flowering
glume hyaline, 3-nerved, toothed
at the apex, awnless. In dry
pastures the panicle is frequently
not more than an inch long, and
the base of the stem swollen
(var. P. nodosum). Perennial,
flowering mid-July, August.
Hordeum pratense, the Meadow
Barley, is frequent in damp mea-
dows in England, especially near
the coast ; very rare in Scotland,
and local in Ireland. Rootstock
rather loosely tufted. Leaves
narrowly linear-lanceolate and
finely tapering, with scabrid ribs,
hairy, dull green ; ligule, truncate
and very short. Culms 11-2 feet.
Spike 2-23 inches long, com-
pressed, yellowish-green, at once
recognised by its similarity to the
spike of the cultivated barley.
Spikelets inserted three in each
notch of the rachis, $ inch long
(exclusive of the awns),1-flowered; re a phy ae .
the lateral spikelets of each triad spikelike panicle : et oie izes
staminate, the central one bi- cspikelet enlarged.
sexual ; empty glumes all bristle-
like and scabrid, not ciliated, prolonged into an awn twice their
length; flowering glumes narrow, rounded on the back, and
obscurely 3-nerved, tapering into an awn not quite their length.
All the awns are scabrid. Perennial, flowering middle of July,
August. :
Bromus vacemosus, the Smooth Brome, is not unfrequent
throughout Britain, but is liable to be confounded with its near ally,
B. mollis. Culms 2-3 feet. Leaves firm and thinly hairy, deep-
green. Panicle long and narrow, erect, the branches reduced to
short pedicels, and rarely bearing more than one spikelet. Spike-
lets about $ inch long, smooth or slightly scabrid, glossy, with an
24 BRITISH SPECIES
acute tip, 5- te 10-flowered ; glumes closely imbricate, both in flower
and fruit; the flowering glumes differ from B. mollés in having
their margins curved near the middle, not angular. Biennial,
flowering June, July.
Bromus commutatus, the Tumid or Confused Brome, is hardly
distinguishable from the foregoing, and should perhaps only rank
as a variety: it is found in pastures and waste ground. The
panicle is slightly drooping and more branched, the lower branches
often bearing two or more spikelets. The flowering glumes have
a blunt angle on each side and are dull green with a brownish
tinge ; fruiting glumes loosely imbricated, their margins involute.
Anthoxanthum Puelii, Puel’s Vernal-grass, occurs in sandy pas-
tures in the south of England. It is very similar to 4. odoratum,
but annual and more slender. Culms numerous, about 9 inches
high ; ligule oblong and laciniate. Panicle spikelike, lax; tips of
the two awned glumes jagged, and the longer awn extending far
beyond the apex of the spikelet. Flowering in July.
Our next group comprises a dozen species which grow on downs,
commons, uplands, heaths and moors. Several of them occur also
in breezy situations by the coast.
Festuca ovina, the Sheep’s Fescue, is abundant all over Britain,
in hillside pastures and copses, and on mountain slopes. It is very
closely allied to F. durtuscula, but the rootstock is densely tufted,
without stolons, and the leaves are apparently solid and filiform
(threadlike) ; ligule two very minute lateral lobes. Culms slender,
6-9 inches. Panicle short, contracted and glaucous. Spikelets
few, smaller than the allied species just named, on very ‘short
branches or pedicels, 4 to 4 inch long, oval, 4- or 5-flowered ;
flowering glumes narrow, rounded on the back, tapering into a
mucro or short awn; fruit golden-brown. Perennial, flowering
latter part of June. Var. / major is a taller plant with a larger
panicle ; stem-leaves broader than the radical; flowering glumes
usually awned.
Nardus stricta, the Mat-grass, is found in great abundance on
wet heaths and moors, as well as in elevated pastures and by
heathy waysides, in places where water collects ; widely distributed
throughout Britain. It is readily known by its tussocks of stiff,
bristlelike leaves, these tussocks consisting of numerous tufts
closely matted together and swollen at the base. The leaves are
so closely involute as to appear solid, with a groove on the upper
side, scabrid. Culms wiry, 6-9 inches. Spike slender, unilateral,
purple. Spikelets about ¢ inch long, 1-flowered, sessile and soli-
tary in two rows of notches on one side of the rachis; no empty
glumes ; flowering glume subulate, keeled and prolonged into a
short scabrid awn. The ovary differs from that of all other British
grasses in having only one style and stigma. Perennial, flowering
middle of June.
Lriza media, the Common Quaking-grass (fig. 19), is plentiful
on downs, heaths, and upland pastures, and often on poor meadowe
UPLANDS, HEATHS AND MOORS 25
land ; it is distributed all over Britain. Rootstock tufted ; leaves
flat, firm, rather short, tapering above, with scarcely perceptible
ribs, rough margins, dull glaucous green; ligule short and trun-
cate. Culms about a foot high. Panicle deltoid or pyramidal,
lax, with capillary spreading branches. Spikelets pendent, $ to +
inch long, subtriangular, or broadly ovate and compressed, tinged
with brown or purple, 6- or 7-flowered ; glumes very closely im-
bricate, broad, deeply concave or saccate, rounded on the back,
obtuse at the tip, and awnless; empty glumes smaller than the
lowest flowering ones. Perennial, flowering middle of June, July.
Deschampsia flexuosa, the Wavy Hair-grass, is generally distri-
buted throughout Britain on dry heaths and in upland pastures
and copses, always growing in abun-
dance. Rootstock rather densely
tufted, producing numerous leaves,
which are setaceous and solid, usually
curved, smooth, dark-green. Culms
1% ft., reddish-purple. Panicle with
slender, spreading, wavy branches,
which are mostly in pairs and triply-
forked. Spikelets $ inch long, pur-
plish-brown and glossy, 2-flowered ;
flowering glumes with a tuft of hairs
at the base, a truncate and toothed
or jagged tip, and a bent and twisted
awn inserted near the base, and ex-
ceeding their length by one half.
Perennial, flowering in July.
Triodia decumbens, the Decumbent
Heath-grass, is found in the same
habitats as D. flexuosa and is widely
distributed, though not very common.
Rootstock tufted, aoe pa de- ‘i
cumbent and compressed. eaves ry oes
narrow, stiff, and often involute, eur’; Wiargeh“the “upper 9 spike
glaucous above ; sheaths hairy ; let, the lower a flowering glume with
ligule, a ring of hairs. Culms about ‘#5 Palea and Hower.
a fet high. The panicle rarely ;
bears more than 5 or 6 spikelets, which are shortly pedicelled,
about } inch long, green, tinged with violet, 3- or 4-flowered ;
glumes awnless, the empty ones nearly equal, large, and enclosing
all the flowering ones ; the latter have a tuft of hairs at the base,
are rounded on the back, and 3-toothed at the apex. Perennial,
flowering latter part of July.
Molinia cerulea, the Purple Melic, is frequent on wet moors all
over Britain. Its leafy tufts are closely matted, and the basal part
is somewhat swollen, not compressed. Leaves flat and finely
tapering, with long scattered hairs near the base ; sheaths smooth,
with a few hairs in place of ligule. Culms wiry, 1-2 ft. with a
single node near the base. Panicle long and narrow, the branches
26 BRITISH SPECIES
very short, erect, and more or less adpressed to the rachis; it is
instantly recognised by its dull violet colour. Spikelets about }
inch long, 2- or 3-flowered, with a terminal rudimentary glume ;
glumes awnless, the empty ones shorter than the flowering and
I-nerved ; flowering glumes terete, acute, 3-nerved. Perennial,
flowering in August.
Avena pubescens, the Downy Oat, is frequent on downs and in
the dry upland pastures of districts where the underlying rock
is chalk or limestone; rather sparingly but widely distributed.
Rootstock shortly creeping, stoloniferous. Leaves rather broad,
flaccid, and clothed with soft hairs; lower sheaths also hairy.
Culms about 2 ft. Panicle very narrow, with a few short, rarely
divided branches. Spike-
lets about 4 inch long,
pale straw-colour tinged
with violet, 2- or 3-flow-
ered; flowering glumes
hairy at the base, rounded
on the back, and with a
long bent and twisted
dorsal awn. Perennial,
flowering latter part of
June.
Avena pratensis, the
Smooth Narrow - leaved
Oat (fig. 20), also shows
partiality for calcareous
soil, and occurs in the
same habitats. Itis rather
common in Great Britain,
but unknown in Ireland.
Rootstock densely tufted,
without stolons. Leaves
narrow, often involute,
_ Fic. 20.—Avena pratensis: et of panicle show- rigid and ribbed, margins
a spaioe Ereseniag and 3 spikelets, one open and scabrid ; neither leaves
nor sheaths are hairy.
Culms about 2 ft. The inflorescence closely resembles that of the
preceding species, but the spikelets are 4 to # inch long and 3- to
6-flowered. In both these Oats the long geniculate awns are
conspicuous. Perennial, flowering latter part of June.
Agrostis canina, the Brown Bent (fig. 6), grows abundantly on
moors and peaty heaths, and is distributed throughout Britain,
although rather locally. Rootstock loosely tufted, producing
trailing and rooting leafy shoots. Leaves extremely narrow, flat ;
sheaths smooth. Culms 1-2 ft., decumbent. Panicle with
numerous capillary branches, spreading at time of flowering,
afterwards close. Spikelets 5 inch long, 1-flowered ; flowering
glume hyaline, truncate and toothed at the apex, with a bent and
twisted dorsal awn inserted a little below the middle, and usually
UPLANDS, HEATHS AND MOORS ay
exceeding the apex; palea absent. Perennial, flowering July,
August.
Koeleria cristata, the Crested Hair-grass, is not unfrequent
throughout Britain on chalk downs, commons and dry, rocky
pastures, both at a considerable elevation and near the coast.
Rootstock tufted. Leaves narrow, with a few well-marked ribs,
ultimately involute, dull-green. Culms 6-12 inches. Panicle
spike-like with very short branches, slightly interrupted in the lower
part. Spikelets $ inch or rather more in length, compressed,
silvery-green, with a faint purple tinge, 2- or 3-flowered ; empty
glumes rather shorter than the flowering ones, the latter mucronate,
ee with a green, scabrid keel. Perennial, flowering middle
of July.
Sesleria carulea, the Blue Moor-grass (fig. 21), grows in the
mountainous pastures of limestone districts, very often on the
outcropping rock. Northern counties of England, west of Ireland,
Scotch Highlands. In Durham county
it descends to the coast. Rootstock
tufted ; leaves flat, narrowly linear, tipped
with a mucro, scabrid on the margins,
rather stiff, purplish-green. Culms 6-12
inches high, with the uppermost leaf only
half aninch long. Panicle dense, ovoid
or shortly oblong, scarcely an inch in
length, dark-blue and silvery-grey, with a
few bracts or empty glumes at its base,
sheathing the pedicels. Spikelets $ inch
long, almost sessile, 2- or 3-flowered ;
glumes mucronate, the flowering ones
with 5 nerves, 3 or all excurrent, forming
short setz or bristles. Perennial, flower-
ing in May.
Fic. 21.—Sesleria caerulea:
: : ro o@ capitate inflorescence ; ba
Agrostis setacea,the Bristle-leaved Bent, spikelet enlarged, showing two
is abundant on dry heaths, commons and #owering glumes.
downs, especially towards the coast ; but
it is confined to the southern half of England. Its dense tufts of
stiff, setaceous, almost capillary leaves, and the close cylindric
panicle—the branches being very short—distinguish it from the
other Bent-grasses. Sheaths scabrid. Culms 9-12 inches. Spike-
lets } inch long, 1-flowered; empty glumes acute, awnless ;
flowering glume with a kneed and twisted swé-basal awn twice its
length, two tufts of short hairs at the base, and two minute setz
(formed by the slightly excurrent lateral nerves) at the tip; palea
very minute. A microscope is necessary for the examination of
the flowering glume ; the two setz, for example, are shorter than
zip inch. Perennial, flowering July. : '
Agrostis vulgaris, var. pumila, is a dwarf form 1-4 inches high,
growing in very dry places in hilly districts; the branches of the
panicle are stouter, and empty glumes broader, than in the typical
species ; flowering glumes usually awned.
28 BRITISH SPECIES
Poa pratensis, var. subcerulea, isa dwarf glaucous purplish form,
found on wall-tops, dry heaths and mountains.
Deschampsia cespitosa, var. brevifolia; leaves short, panicle
much smaller than in the typical plant; dry uplands, mountains.
The grasses forming our third group are semi-aquatic, growing
in ditches, ponds and marshy places, and by the margins of rivers
and streams.
Alopecurus geniculatus, the Floating Foxtail, is a very common
grass all over Britain, in ditches, ponds and marshy places. Root-
stock with decumbent and geniculate branches, rooting below,
; often floating. Leaves short with
rough ribs, dull green. Culms about
a foot high, sharply bent at the lower
nodes. Panicle spikelike, cylindric
and dense, much narrower than that
of A. pratensis, and purplish-green.
Spikelets $5 inch long, 1-flowered ;
empty glumes awnless, united at the
base and ciliated on the keel ; flower-
ing glume with a sub-basal awn
nearly twice its length; no palea.
Perennial, flowering early June to
autumn. <A. fronus is a prostrate
form.
Glyceria fluitans, the Floating Sweet-
grass (fig. 22), almost invariably ac-
companies the species last described,
but is not confined to stagnant water,
as it fringes the rivulets, and often
floats in the current. Rootstock with-
out subterranean stolons, but produc-
ing stout procumbent or floating
branches which root below. Leaves
Fic. 22.—Glyceria fluitans: a long, broadly linear, conduplicate at
iat and lover potion of anise first, then flat, with faint ribs, flaccid,
wise, showing scarious tips of Speckled in transmitted light ; ligule
glumes. prominent. Culms about 2 ft. Pani-
cle long and slightly branched, the
branches adpressed to the rachis, and some of them bearing only
one spikelet. Spikelets about an inch long, cylindric at first, then
linear and compressed, pale green, 12- to 15-flowered; glumes
rounded on the back and awnless, the flowering ones with 7 nerves
which vanish below the colourless tip. Perennial, flowering early
June to autumn. Sub-species G. A/cata has leaf-sheaths distinctly
furrowed, the panicle more branched and spreading in fruit, lowest
branches about five; flowering glumes twice as long as broad,
3-toothed. Var. G. pedicellata has also furrowed sheaths, lowest
panicle branches in threes. Var. G. declénata is a dwarf state with
smooth sheaths, spikelets few-flowered and palea longer than the
SSS
eID
RIVERSIDES, PONDS AND ‘MARSHES 29
floweritig glume. Both these varieties have the flowering glume
3-toothed.
_ Deschampsia cespitosa, the Tufted Hair-grass (fig. 37), luxuriates
in wet, spongy soil, and is very common in such places, in meadows
and pastures, woods and wayside ditches throughout Britain
Easily recognised by its dense tussocks of leaves, 1-3 ft. long, very
narrow and tapering finely, dark-green, stiff and excessively scabrid
on the upper surface and margins; the ribs, usually seven in
number, are remarkably prominent, opaque, with translucent inter-
spaces. Culms 2-4 ft- Panicle large, repeatedly branched, the
branches numerous at each insertion and widely spreading. Spike-
lets numerous, $ inch long, silvery-purple, containing two flowers
and a rudiment; flowering glumes
hairy at the base, with a truncate
jagged tip and a very slender slightly
curved awn inserted near the base,
and scarcely extending beyond the
aH Perennial, flowering middle of
uly.
Phalaris arundinacea, the Reed
Canary-grass, is a reedlike species,
frequent throughout Britain on the
margins of rivers, streams and ponds,
and in marshy parts of woods. Root-
stock creeping ; leaves large, broadly
linear-lanceolate, finely striated ;
sheaths terete; ligule rather pro-
minent. Culms 4-5 ft. Panicle lax,
the branches mostly in pairs, spread-
ing at time of flowering. Spikelets
rather crowded on the branches to
within half an inch of the rachis, 4 pig, 23,—Agrostis alba: 2 panicles,
inch long, compressed, pale green, one open in flower, the other closed
aften, tinged. with, rose-purple, 1- in fyuit; om the sight above, a
: i : et enlarged, below the same minus its
flowered, with two rudiments (hairy empty glumes.
pedicels) beneath the flowering :
glume; glumes awnless, the empty ones keeled, the flowering
glume polished and ultimately indurated. Perennial, flowering
middle of July. The Ribbon-grass commonly grown in gardens
is a variety having the leaves striped with white or pale yellow.
Agrostis alba, the Marsh Bent (fig. 23), grows in damp and
marshy places almost everywhere ; sometimes found in dry situa-
tions, where it varies from the typical form. This species closely
resembles 4. vulgaris, but the ligule is long and acute, sheaths
roughish, and the branches of the panicle, though spreading at time
of flowering, close together in fruit. The rootstock has long creeping
or floating stolons. Culms 1-2 ft. Spikelets 3 inch long, green or
purplish ; glumes as in A. vu/garis, but the keel of the lower empty
glume scabrid along nearly its whole length; flowering glume
rarely awned. Perennial, flowering latter part of July to autumn,
30 BRITISH SPECIES
Festuca elatior, the Tall Fescue, is frequent in wet meadows and
on the banks of streams throughout Britain. Very closely allied
to F. pratensis and sometimes hardly distinguishable from it.
Rootstock tufted, with stout stolons. Leaves large, broadly linear
and tapering above, flat, firm, with prominent rough ribs and
scabrid margins, dark green. Culms 2-3 ft. Panicle widely
spreading, with paired branches, each bearing two or several
spikelets which are $-? inch long and 5- or 6-flowered ; flowering
glumes rounded on the back and tapered into a mucro, or very
short awn. Perennial, flowering July and August,
Glyceria aguatica, the Reedy Sweet-grass, grows in dense patches
in, or at the margin of ponds and sluggish rivers, and in marshes ;
rather common in England, rare in Scotland and Ireland. Root-
stock very stout and extensively creeping. Leaves 2-3 ft. long and
nearly an inch broad, linear and
suddenly pointed, stiff and erect,
speckled in transmitted light ;
ligule short and truncate. Culms
4-6 ft. Panicle large, much
branched and _ spreading, the
branches unequal, and many at
each insertion. Spikelets numer-
ous, 4 inch long, compressed,
brownish, 5- to 10-flowered; glumes
rounded on the back, obtuse, awn-
less, the flowering ones 7-nerved.
Perennial, flowering in August.
Phragmites communis, the Com-
mon Reed (fig. 38), forms thickets by
the margins of lakes and in
marshes; widely distributed
throughout Britain, and abundant
putt 2h —Calalrera: apeeticesooper in manly parts, motably the Fen
fue a flower ih de plaiie add palea. district. Rootstock thick, jointed,
and extensively creeping. Leaves
large, broadly linear-lanceolate, striated ; ligule a circle of hairs.
Culms 6-8 ft. The dense plumy panicle is at first purple, then brown,
ultimately greyish- brown by reason of the copious growth of
white hairs on the rachilla of the spikelets. Spikelets 4 inch long,
3 to 5-flowered, the lowest flower staminate ; glumes awnless, the
empty ones very unequal, the flowering ones subulate and en-
veloped in the long silky hairs. Perennial, flowering middle of
September in the north of England, earlier south. A depauper-
ate form, A. 2Zgricians, is sometimes met with ; it is about half the
size of the typical plant, and the spikelets are only I- or 2-flowered.
' Catabrosa aquatica, the Water Whorl-grass (fig. 24), is rather
thinly but widely distributed throughout Britain, in ponds and
marshy places, and by the sides of streams. Rootstock with long
creeping or floating branches which root at the lower nodes.
Leaves flat, broadly linear, obtuse, flaccid. Culms ascending to
RIVERSIDES, PONDS AND MARSHES 3t
one foot or more. Panicle pyramidal and diffuse, with very evident
half-whorls of unequal branches, 3-5 at each insertion. Spikelets
about 4 inch long, obconic, yellowish purple, usually 2-, sometimes
3-flowered. All the glumes have erose tips (¢.e. truncate and with
shallow notches—a perfectly distinctive character), and are awnless ;
empty glumes unequal, and not more than half the length of the
‘eo ones, the latter 3-nerved. Perennial, flowering June,
uly.
Calamagrostis lanceolata, the Purple-flowered Small-reed, pre-
fers the shade of woods and hedges, though sometimes occurring
in open situations, but always on moist or swampy ground ; it is
confined to England, and local. Rootstock creeping with long
stolons. Leaves linear, with numerous unequal slender ribs, flaccid.
Culms 2-4 ft., slender. Panicle rather lax, spreading at time of
flowering, tinged with rose-purple, shining. Spikelets nearly 7
inch long, numerous, I-flowered ; empty glumes very narrow and
much longer than the flowering one, awnless; flowering glume
enveloped by silky hairs which slightly exceed its tip, and with an
extremely minute awn springing from the apical notch. Perennial,
flowering in July.
Alopecurus fulvus, the Orange-anthered Foxtail, is closely allied
to A. geniculatus and occurs in the same habitats, but is restricted
‘to the southern half of England. Comparing the two species, the
distinctive characters of A. fu/vus are: leaves pale green with
slightly rough ribs ; empty glumes a little shorter than the flower-
ing one ; awn arising from the middle of the flowering glume and
extending very little beyond the tip. The anthers are shortly
oblong (not narrow), and bright orange scarlet, which enables one
to recognise the species at a glance when it is in flower. Perennial,
flowering June to autumn.
Leersia oryzoides, the European Cut-grass, as a British plant is
only recorded from a few localities in S.E, England; it grows by
the sides of streams and in marshes ; abundant by the Boldre
River, Hants; Surrey, Sussex. Rootstock extensively creeping.
Leaves flat, broadly linear-lanceolate with excessively scabrid
margins, pale green. Culms 2~3 ft. Panicle lax with capillary
branches, partly concealed in the inflated sheath of the uppermost
leaf. Spikelets nearly 4 inch long, half oval, pale green and trans-
lucent, I-flowered ; no empty glumes; flowering glume 3-nerved,
keeled, awnless, the nerves ciliated with stiff hairs ; palea with
only one nerve or keel, also ciliate. Flowers of the exserted
portion of the panicle mostly abortive. Perennial, flowering in
autumn.
Deyeuxia neglecta, the Narrow Small-reed, is extremely rare ;
found in bogs at Oakmere, Cheshire ; on the shores of Lough
‘Neagh, Ireland, and in Caithness. Very closely allied to Calama-
grostis lanceolata. Rootstock shortly creeping ; leaves extremely
narrow with few ribs, flaccid ; uppermost ligule blunt. Culms 2-3 ft.
Panicle very narrow and lax. Spikelets 4 inch long, containing
one flower and a rudiment in the form ofa pedicel tipped with a
42 BRITISH SPECIES
hair-tuft ; flowering glume neariy as long as the empty ones ; hairs
at its base only about half as long ; awn inserted below the middle
of the flowering glume and scarcely exceeding its apex. The Irish
variety, D. Hookeri, has the uppermost ligule acute, and the hairs
are about three-fourths the length of the empty glumes. Perennial,
flowering June, July.
Deschampsia flexuosa, var. setacea, uliginosa or discolor, has
leaves conduplicate (not solid), glaucous ; uppermost ligule long
and acute, pedicel of upper flowering glume longer ; turfy bogs.
Our fourth group consists of a dozen species, which, with one
exception, are found only in
woods, copses, and shrubby
places, or by shady hedgerows.
Hlolcus mollis, the Creeping
Soft-grass, is perhaps the com-
monest of our sylvan species,
and is generally distributed
throughout Britain; sometimes
met with in open situations.
Rootstock extensively creeping.
Leaves flat, rather broadly
linear-lanceolate, more or less
hairy, with very uneven ribs
and slightly rough margins ;
basal sheaths white with red
veins. Culms 1-1${t. Panicle
with short, mostly paired
branches, spreading when in
flower. Spikelets nearly 4 inch
long, greenish-white or marked
with purple, 2-flowered; the
lower flower perfect and its
glume awnless, the upper sta-
minate with a dorsal awn on
Fic. 25. — Brachypodinm sylvaticum: ; ,
drooping spike ; 8 mouth of sheath enlarged its glume ? empty glumes nearly
to show ligule. smooth but ciliated on the keel ;
awn scabrid, considerably ex-
ceeding the spikelet, ultimately kneed but not hooked. Perennial,
flowering middle of July to autumn.
Festuca gigantea, the Great Bearded Fescue, is fairly abundant
and generally distributed. Rootstock tufted. Leaves large, flat,
tapering, scabrid above and on the edges, smooth and shining
beneath, bright green. Both leaves and sheaths are glabrous
(without hairs); auricles prominent, purplish-brown. Culms
2-5 ft. Panicle rather large, diffuse and drooping, the branches
inserted in pairs. Spikelets $ inch long, narrow, tapering, pale
green and glossy, about 5-flowered ; flowering glumes rounded on
the back, with a bifid tip and a subterminal awn about twice their
length. This grass has a Bromelike habit, but the glabrous ovary
WOODS AND SHRUBBY PLACES 33
and terminal styles do not accord with the characters of Bromus.
Perennial, flowering latter part of July, August.
Bromus asper, the Hairy Wood Brome, is almost as frequent
as the preceding species. Rootstock tufted. Leaves large, flat,
broadly linear-lanceolate, hairy above, bright green ; lower sheaths
thickly clothed with spreading deflexed hairs. Culms 3-6 ft,
often overtopping the shrubs.‘ Panicle with long arching branches,
3-5 at the lower insertions. Spikelets about an inch long, droop-
ing, cylindric at first, then much compressed, about 8-flowered ;
flowering glumes rounded on the back, notched at tip, and with a
subterminal awn half their length; apex of ovary hairy, styles
lateral. Perennial, flowering close
of July, August.
Brachypodium sylvaticum, the
Slender False-brome (fig. 25), will
usually be seen on the dry slopes
of woods, and on shady hedge-
banks; it is rather common and
generally distributed. Rootstock
tufted, not creeping. Leaves
broadly linear-lanceolate, soft and
very hairy on both sides, with
ciliate margins, light yellowish-
green; sheaths clothed with
spreading-deflexed hairs. Culms
1-2 ft., slender. Spike drooping ;
spikelets 3-1 inch long, subcylin-
dric, on pedicels so short that
they appear sessile on the rachis,
8- to 10-flowered ; flowering glumes
entire, ze. not notched at the tip,
and with a terminal awn their own
length ; upper part of ovary hairy.
Perennial, flowering latter part of
July, August. Fic. 26.—Melica uniflora: upper
Milium efusum, the Spreading eve an, enlarged, speek loves
Millet, is fairly common in moist _ show the clavate (club-shaped) body
woods throughout England, rather on left.
scarce in Scotland and Ireland.
Rootstock shortly stoloniferous. Leaves broadly linear-lanceolate,
with faint smooth ribs but very scabrid margins, flaccid, pale
bright green; ligule long. Culms 3-4 ft. Panicle with remote
half-whorls of long slender widely-spreading branches, several
at each insertion. Spikelets disposed mostly at the distal por-
tions of the branches, $ inch long, egg-shaped, not compressed,
pale green, 1-flowered ; glumes all equal, rounded on the back and
awnless, the flowering one smooth, becoming hard and polished in
fruit. Perennial, flowering early June.
Melica uniflora, the Wood Melic (fig. 26), is found on dry slopes
and rocky places in woods ; rather frequent and generally distri-
H.G. D
34 BRITISH SPECIES
buted. Rootstock with slender stolons. Leaves slender, flat,
linear-lanceolate, light green ; ligule almost obsolete, but on the
opposite side of the mouth of the entire sheath is a subulate lobe
peculiar to this grass alone. Culms about 13 ft. Panicle witha
few long slender branches in pairs. Spikelets about ¢ inch long,
oval, erect, purplish-brown or maroon-red, containing one flower
and a terminal club-shaped body formed of several colourless
rudimentary glumes ; glumes rounded on the back and awnless,
the empty ones as long asthe flowering one, the latter 5-nerved and
pale greenish-yellow. Perennial, flowering latter part of May, June.
Poa nemoralis, the Wood Meadow-grass, is not unfrequent in
woods and copses, and curiously enough, this delicate-looking
species is also found on the summits of our highest mountains,
where it varies a good deal from the lowland form. Rather com-
mon, and generally distributed in England, more rare in Scotland
and Ireland. Rootstock very shortly creeping. Leaves very
narrow, tapering from the base finely, dark green ; sheaths smooth,
ligule hardly apparent. Culms about 2 ft., and so frail that they
break if not carefully handled. Panicle pyramidal, slightly droop-
ing, the branches 3-4 at the lower insertions. Spikelets 4 inch
long, narrowly ovate, pale green, 2- to 4-flowered; glumes com-
pressed, keeled, without awn or mucro, the flowering ones webbed
and obscurely 5-nerved. Perennial, flowering middle of July.
Agropyrum caninum, the Fibrous or Wood Couch, is rather
thinly but widely distributed throughout Great Britain ; scarce in
Ireland. Rootstock not at all creeping, and without stolons.
Leaves flat, linear-lanceolate, hairy above with faint ribs, auricled,
flaccid, and bright green. Culms very slender, 2-3 ft. Spike
slender ; spikelets 4 inch long, broadside to the rachis, one in each
notch and usually 4-flowered ; flowering glumes with a slender
wavy awn their own length. Perennial, flowering latter part of
July. :
Calamagrostis epigetos, the Wood Small-reed, is not unfrequent
in the south of England, becoming scarce northwards ; very rare
in Ireland. It is partial to shade and damp soil, or places that
are occasionally inundated; but we have found it on the dry
ballast hills of the Tyne. Rootstock creeping with long stolons.
Leaves very long, stiff, and ultimately involute with very scabrid
margins, rather glaucous ; ligule very long. Culms 2-4 ft. Panicle
dense and plumy, lobed, dull purplish-brown. Spikelets numerous,
t inch long, 1-flowered ; the flowering glume is enveloped in silky
hairs, and has a dorsal awn inserted about midway along the keel
and extending a little beyond its apex ; empty glumes and silky
hairs twice the length of the flowering glume. Perennial, flowering
early August.
Melica nutans, the Nodding Melic, is found on shady banks and
rocky places in the mountainous woods of Western England and of
Scotland. Rootstock and leaves as in AZ. wuzflora, but the mouth
of the sheath is without a lobe. Culms a foot high. The spike-
lets, about half a score in number, are disposed in a drooping
SEASHORE: LOOSE SAND 35
raceme, the very short branches from which they depend being
seldom divided. The spikelets are ¢ inch long or rather more,
oval, purplish-brown, 2-flowered with the characteristic terminal
clavate rudiments ; glumes awnless, the empty ones shorter than
the flowering. Perennial, flowering latter part of May, June.
Festuca sylvatica, the Wood Fescue, is both local and scarce,
although widely distributed, occurring chiefly in hilly and mountain-
ous districts. Rootstock densely tufted. Leaves large, flat, broadly
linear and tapering above, with flat ribs and scabrid margins, dark
green and shining beneath ; sheaths rough, ligule rather short,
toothed. Culms about 3 ft., with short, scale-like, acute, leafless
sheaths at the base. Panicle much branched, symmetrically
spreading, and erect. Spikelets numerous, about + inch long,
3- to 5-flowered ; flowering glumes narrow, rounded on the back
and tapering into a mucro. Ovary hairy at the top. Perennial,
flowering middle of July.
Hordeum sylvaticum, the Wood Barley, is a rare woodland grass
confined to England and occurring principally on chalk and lime-
stone soils. Rootstock loosely tufted, creeping. Leaves flat,
rather broad, and tapering from near the base, with scattered hairs
above, dark-green, auricled ; sheaths clothed with deflexed hairs ;
ligule short and truncate. Culms about 3 ft. Spike nearly cylin-
dric. Spikelets 4 inch long, three in each excavation of the rachis,
1-flowered ; the flowers of the two lateral spikelets bisexual, the
middle spikelet with a staminate flower ; empty glumes all bristle-
like, not ciliate, scabrid, prolonged into an awn about their own
length; flowering glumes narrow, faintly 3-nerved, with an awn
about 14 times their length. Perennial, flowering late July.
The grasses of the seashore are a numerous group, which may
be divided into three smaller groups; Ist, the grasses which grow
in loose sand ; 2nd, those growing in sandy pastures and dry waste
places by the sea ; 3rd, those partial to salt marshes, the banks of
tidal rivers, and muddy places by the sea.
In the loose sand of the seashore, or on the dunes or sand-
hillocks :—
Ammophila arundinacea, the Common Sea-reed or Marram, is
the commonest of our sand-grasses, generally distributed, and
always growing in abundance. Rootstock extensively creeping by
means of long subterranean stolons. Leaves long, narrow, rigid,
and ultimately convulute, with a few thick ribs ; ligule very long
and split. Culms 2-3 ft. Panicle spikelike, 4-5 inches long, dense,
stout, and spindle-shaped, pale green or straw-color. Spikelets
about 4 inch long, stiff, containing one flower and a stalk-like rudi-
ment; flowering glume a little shorter than the empty ones,
shortly bearded at the base, and with a minute awn from just below
the bifid tip ; hairs one third the length of the flowering glume.
Perennial, flowering middle of July. ;
Agropyrum junceum, the Sea Couch, is scarcely less abundant
than the preceding, and like it has an extensively creeping root-
36 BRITISH SPECIES
stock. Leaves narrow, firm, and more or less involute, the upper
surface clothed with fine short hairs, ribs very prominent and un-
equal; ligule short. All parts of the plant are glaucous. Culms
13ft. Spike long and arching, the rachis stout but fragile, and
readily breaking at the joints. Spikelets solitary in the notches of
the rachis and broadside to it, $-1 inch long, pale green, 4- to 8-
flowered ; glumes rigid, awnless, with a blunt truncate or notched
tip, and faintly nerved. Perennial, flowering early July.
There are two maritime forms of Agropyrum, intermediate
between this species and A. regens, and distinguishable chiefly by
the structure of the leaves. 4. fungens has erect culms in dense
tufts ; leaves involute and rigid, with thick, prominent ribs, scabrid
on the upper surface with a row of asperities on each rib. Spike
compact, erect. This form is scarce, growing on the banks of tidal
rivers. A. acutum has decumbent stems in loose tufts; leaves
similar, but with less prominent ribs, and rough with scattered
asperities, not in rows. Spike Jax and slightly arching. It grows
in sandy ground, and is rather scarce. In neither of these forms
is the rachis brittle, nor have the leaves a close pile of hairs.
Spikelets 5- to 12-flowered.
Festuca rubra, the Creeping Fescue, is of frequent occurrence
all round our coasts. Rootstock not tufted, but extensively creep-
ing with long stolons—a habit which distinguishes it from the
nearly related /. duriuscula. It is further known by the firmer
and broader, but more or less involute, glaucous leaves with
several thick ribs ; basal sheaths downy and purplish-red. Pan-
icle drooping, spikelets Sinch long. Perennial, flowering latter
part of June, July.
Elymus arenarius, the Sea Lyme-grass, is distributed rather
sparingly around our coasts. Rootstock stout, creeping and sto-
loniferous. The whole plant is intensely glaucous and is readily
known from all our other maritime grasses by its large, broad, flat
leaves, with numerous prominent equal ribs ; auricled; ligule very
short. Culms 3-4 ft. Spike stout, 6-12 inches long, erect. Spike-
lets 1 inch long, in pairs or threes, seated broadside in excavations
of the rachis, 2- or 3-flowered : glumes rigid, subequal, terminating
in a mucro, the flowering ones hairy. Perennial, flowering July.
Poa bulbosa, the Bulbous Meadow-grass, is found locally in S.E.
England, growing on the sand and fine shingle of the shore;
abundant on Yarmouth Denes, Norfolk. Rootstock densely
tufted, the base of each shoot swollen and bulb-like. Leaves short,
narrow and curved, margins scabrid. Culms about 6 inches high,
swollen at base. Panicle 1-14 inches long, close, the branches
mostly in pairs. Spikelets about 2 inch long, usually 4-flowered ;
glumes keeled, compressed and awnless, the flowering ones silky-
hairy, and webbed. Perennial, flowering April to June. This grass
is propagated by its bulbs ; towards autumn they become detached
and are blown about the sands ; eventually they strike root.
Ammophila baltica, the Baltic Sea-reed, has only one British
station, Ross Links, on the Northumbrian coast (opposite Holy
SEASHORE: DRY SANDY SOIL 37
Island), growing there in company with A. arundinacea, which
it greatly resembles. Culms 4-5 ft. Panicle 8-10 inches long,
and lobed (not fusiform), with a purple tinge; glumes narrower
than in the other species, and very acute ; hairs at the base of the
flowering glume half its length. Perennial, flowering in August.
ffordeum murinum, var. arenarium, growing in loose sand, has
the stems branching and rooting below.
Catabrosa aquatica, var. littoralis or minor, occurring on wet
sand by the sea, is a dwarf form, 1-2 inches high, with 1-flowered
spikelets.
Growing in sandy pastures and dry
waste places by the sea :—
Phleum arenartum, the Seaside Cats-
tail, is not unfrequent on the English
coast, scarcer in Ireland and Scotland.
Culms 2-6 inches high, tufted. Leaves
not more than an inch long, rather
broad. Panicle dense, shortly cylindric
or somewhat club-shaped, being nar-
rowed towards the base, 4-1 inch long.
Spikelets + inch long, containing one
flower and a -pedicel-like rudiment ;
empty glumes tapering into a mucro,
the flowering one very small and
awnless. Annual, flowering May, June.
Glyceria distans,the Reflexed Sweet-
grass (fig. 27), seems to prefer dry,
sandy ground, but may also be found
on the margins of brackish rivers and
marshes ; it is frequent all round our
coasts, rarely occurring inland. Root-
stock without stolons. Leaves flat.
Culms 1-13 ft. Panicle spreading on
all sides, the branches 4-5 at te
insertion, horizontal in flower and de- Ate s
flexed in fruit. Spikelets about + inch pen eee ee
long, 5- or 6-flowered; flowering enlarged figures, below to left, a
glumes blunt and scarious at the tip, SBic'*hi 4° peiketineed” ne
not mucronate, faintly nerved. Per- above, the empty glumes. :
ennial, flowering July, August.
Glycerta loliacea, the Dwarf Sweet-grass, is rather sparsely dis-
tributed around the English and Irish coasts, and is rare in Scot-
land. Culms rigid, stout, 3-4 inches long, growing in small tufts.
Leaves short and slender. Inflorescence like a miniature spike of
Lolium, the spikelets being almost sessile on the rachis, and, except
the lower ones, solitary, all facing one way. Spikelets Linch long,
green, rarely tinged with purple, about 9-flowered ; glumes closely
imbricate, blunt and scarious at the tip, and minutely mucronate,
the flowering one strongly 3-nerved. Annual, flowering latter
part of June,
38 BRITISH SPECIES
Hordeum maritimum, the Sea Barley or Squirrel-tail-grass, is
confined to the shores of England and is more frequent in the
south than in the north. Culms 6-12 inches, decumbent. Leaves
rather narrow, tapering from base. Spike 1-2 inches long, pale
green, ultimately brownish-yellow. As in the other wild barleys,
the spikelets are disposed three in each notch of the rachis ; they
are ¢-Linch long, 1-flowered ; the lateral spikelets contain a
staminate flower, the central spikelet a bisexual one ; empty glumes
scabrid, the inner one of the lateral spikelets half-ovate, the rest
bristle-like, all terminating in an awn twice their length ; lateral
flowering glumes with a short awn about their own length, central
flowering glume with an awn nearly twice its length ; all the awns
scabrid. Annual or biennial, flowering June to autumn.
Gastridium lendigerum, the Awned Nit-grass, occurs locally in
the southern half of England, and should be looked for in places
that are occasionally flooded by rains or tides. Culms numerous,
6-10 inches high. Leaves short and flat. Panicle spike-like,
compact, lobed, pale green and glistening, ultimately straw-colour.
Spikelets rather more than } inch long, I-flowered ; empty glumes
both with a glossy swelling at the base—an unequivocal character ;
the flowering glume is very much shorter than the empty ones, and
has usually a slender subterminal awn. Annual, flowering June
to September.
Festuca uniglumis, the Single-glumed Fescue, is found sparingly
on the coasts of the southern half of England and eastern Ireland ;
unknown in Scotland. Culms 6-12 inches, tufted. Leaves very
narrow, more or less involute. Spikelets about 4 inch long, 3- to
6-flowered, on very short pedicels, forming a short, bristly panicle,
resembling the spike of the barley-grasses, but unilateral. The
minuteness or absence of the lower empty glume is a peculiarity
of this species ; upper empty glume narrowed into a short awn ;
flowering glumes with a terminal awn exceeding their own length.
Annual, flowering in June.
Cynodon dactylon, the Creeping Dogstooth-grass, grows spar-
ingly along the coast from Dorset to Cornwall, and is perhaps
most abundant in the neighbourhood of Penzance. Channel
Islands. Stems prostrate and creeping extensively, rooting and
sending up leafy shoots; leaves short, stiff, and more or less in-
volute, Culms about 6 inches high. Spikes, four or five at the
top of each culm, radiating like fingers, and about an inch long.
Spikelets sessile, in two rows on each spike, 4; inch long, laterally
compressed, purplish, each containing one flower and a rudiment
above it; glumes awnless, the empty ones nearly equal. Peren-
nial, flowering July, August.
Corynephorus canescens, the Grey Hair-grass, is one of our
rarities ; the only authentic localities for it being Lowestoft Denes,
Suffolk ; Yarmouth Denes, Norfolk ; and shores of Jersey. Leaves
in dense tufts, short, bristle-like. Culms about 6 inches high.
Panicle with short branches, silvery white, and faintly tinged with
green or purple. Spikelets 3 inch long, 2-flowered ; the flower-
SEASHORE: DRY SANDY SOIL 39
ing glumes have a curious dorsal awn; a ring of hairs divides
it into two equal portions, the lower stout, striated, and slightly
twisted, the upper part slender but gradually thickened towards
the tip, so as to be somewhat club-shaped. Perennial, flowering in
June, July.
Mibora verna, the Early Sand-grass (fig. 28), or Knappia, is a
diminutive annual found only on the S.W. coast of Anglesea and
the shores of the Channel Islands. The culms are capillary, 1-3
inches high, tufted. Leaves extremely short and narrow, with
white sheaths. The spikelets, numbering from five to ten, are
almost sessile in a spikelike raceme, which is about half an inch
long; the spikelets are ~; inch long, and 1-flowered; glumes
truncate and awnless, the flowering one a little shorter and downy.
Flowering March, April.
The three grasses next described are
indigenous only to the Channel Islands:—
Bromus maximus, the Great Brome, is
found in sandy places on the shores of
those islands; it does not occur any-
where in Britain proper, except on the
Tyne ballast-hills, where we found it
four years ago. Culms stout, 10-18 inches
high ; leaves rather broad, hairy on both
surfaces. Panicle with a few scarcely
divided branches, usually shorter than
the spikelets, nodding in fruit. Spikelets
1i inch long (exclusive of the awns),
oblong, 5- or 6-flowered; flowering glumes
imbricated, with a subterminal straight
stout awn 14-2 inches (longer than that of
any other Brome). Stamens usually two.
Annual, flowering latter part of June, July.
Lagurus ovatus, the Ovate Hare’s-tail, ;
is found only in Guernsey. Culms tufted, _F1s- 28.—M@ébora verna: a
plant, nat. size; & raceme
6-12 inches. Leaves broad, downy ; enlarged, showing subsessile
sheaths inflated. Spikelets + inch long, spikelets.
I-flowered, with a stalk-like rudiment,
densely crowded into a soft ovate-ovoid head which looks like
a tuft of fur, and is only $ inch long, almost white; empty
glumes very narrow and plumose, the margins being fringed with
long silky hairs; flowering glume ending in two bristles, and
with a long kneed and twisted awn inserted a little below the tip.
Annual, flowering in June. The capitate inflorescence may often
be seen in the grass-bouquets of the shops—mostly, however, larger
cultivated specimens.
Cynosurius echinatus, the Rough Dogstail, occurs very locally in
sandy pastures on the shores of the Channel Islands ; it is some-
times met with in England as a casual of cultivated fields. Culms
1-2 feet. Leaves broad with scabrid margins. Panicle compact
ovoid or lobed, about an inch long, bristly. Spikelets 4 inch long,
&
40 BRITISH SPECIES
of two kinds, paired, one of each pair 2- or 3-flowered, the other
sterile ; glumes of the sterile spikelets terminating in an awn their
own. length ; flowering glumes similarly awned. Annual, flower-
ing June, July. ;
Festuca ovina, var. glauca, common on sea banks, is an in-
tensely glaucous form with short, rigid, recurved leaves ; flowering
glumes awned.
Bromus mollis, var. hordaceus, is a dwarf prostrate form with
glabrous spikelets (¢.e. not hairy or downy), growing in dry and
sandy places by the sea. Var. L/oydianus, found on the shores of
the Channel Islands, has the awns bent outward in fruit.
Festuca elatior, var. arundinacea, with scabrid leaf-sheaths and
the branches of the panicle spread-
ing in fruit, is found on moist, sandy
banks by the sea.
Agrostis alba, var. stolonifera,
Fiorin-grass, occurs chiefly on sea-
banks; it has prostrate stems,
which root freely at the nodes, and
the panicle is dense, lobed, and
dull green.
Growing in salt marshes, on the
banks of tidal rivers, and in muddy
waste places by the sea :—
Glycerta maritima, the Creeping
Sea Sweet-grass, is frequent on all
the British coasts, and grows in
abundance. Rootstock densely
tufted, producing numerous trailing
leafy stolons, the leaves of which
are fleshy, closely involute, and end-
H ing ina hard point. Culms about
MM" i afoot high. Panicle rather one-
Fic. 29.—Lepturus filiformis:onone Sided and contracted, with short
spike the spikelets are flowering and ascending branches, 2-3 at the
divergent, the other spikes closed. lower insertions, pale green or pur-
plish on one side, glaucous. Spike-
lets adpressed to the branches, about 4 inch long, containing
usually five, but sometimes as many as eight flowers; flowering
glumes with a scarious blunt tip, the dorsal nerve reaching it, but
not excurrent. Perennial, flowering in July. Var. G. hésfzda has
rough panicle-branches; var. G. rifarza is a slender form with
fewer spikelets.
Lepturus filtformis, the Sea Hard-grass (fig. 29), is frequent in
the southern half of England, becoming scarce northward ; very
rare in Scotland, and distributed sparingly around the Irish coast.
Culms tufted, about 6 inches high; leaves short, ultimately in-
volute. Spike cylindric, very slender, often slightly curved, green
and shining. Rachis excavated and jointed, and the spikelets so
deeply sunk, one in each excavation that, except when flowering
SEASHORE: SALT MARSHES, ETC 41
and therefore divergent, they are hardly discernible ; they are
Linch long and contain one perfect flower and a rudiment; glumes
awnless, the empty ones rigid, both on the outer side; the flower-
ing one as long, hyaline with a green nerve. Annual, flowering
latter part of July, early August.
Alopecurus bulbosus, the Tuberous Foxtail, is distributed locally
around the coast of the southern half of England. It is very simi-
lar to A. gentculatus, from which, however, it is distinguished by
the basal internodes of the stems being swollen and bulb-like.
Leaves very narrow, with prominent ribs, pale green. Panicle
cylindric, tapering above, 1-2 inches long, dense but slender.
Spikelets + inch long, 1-flowered ; empty glumes very acute and
free, z.e. not cohering at the edges ; keel ciliate; flowering glume
with a sub-basal awn twice its length; no palea. Perennial,
flowering in June.
Glyceria procumbens, the Procumbent Sweet-grass, is frequent in
S.E. England, but rare in the north ; not recorded from Scotland,
and doubtfully native in Ireland. Rootstock tufted, the culms
numerous, 6-8 inches, prostrate or ascending. Leaves flat, sheaths
inflated. Panicle compact, one-sided, with very short rigid dis-
tichous branches, 2-3 at each insertion, never deflexed, glaucous-
green. Spikelets } inch long, almost sessile, crowded, 4- or
5-flowered ; flowering glume with a blunt scarious tip, the dorsal
nerve sometimes slightly excurrent, forming a minute mucro.
Annual or biennial, flowering June, July.
Glyceria Borrert, Borrer’s Sweet-grass, is a very local species
found on the south and east coasts of England, and in Ireland; it
is intermediate between G. distans and G. procumbens ; but may
be known by its much smaller spikelets, 34 inch long, which are
wholly green, and by the dorsal nerve of the flowering glume ex-
tending beyond the tip to form a minute mucro. The branches of
the somewhat one-sided panicle are very short, 2-3 at each inser-
tion, never deflexed. Perennial, flowering July, August.
Spartina stricta, the Twin-spiked Cord-grass, occurs locally on
the south and east coasts of England, growing plentifully where it
is established. Rootstock extensively creeping. Leaves jointed
to the sheaths and easily broken off, shorter than the spikes.
Culms about a foot high, each bearing usually two, sometimes
three, unilateral spikes which are erect and so closely contiguous
as to appear like a single spike ; rachis prolonged to the tip of the
uppermost spikelet. Spikelets 6-10 on each spike, half an inch or
rather more in length, rigid, 1-flowered; empty glumes very un-
equal, downy, the upper one mucronate ; flowering glume a little
shorter than the longer empty one, I-nerved, awnless. Styles
united for about half their length. Perennial, flowering in August.
Spartina alterniflora, the Many-spiked Cord-grass, is abundant
on the mudflats at Southampton. It is perhaps only entitled to
rank as a sub-species. The leaves are not jointed to the sheaths,
and are as long or longer than the spikes. Culms 2-3 feet each,
bearing five or more spikes, not so close together as in the fore-
42 BRITISH SPECIES
going species ; rachis prolonged beyond the uppermost spikelet for
about half an inch. Spikelets numerous ; empty glumes smooth.
An intermediate form, S. Zowmnsendzz, occurs on the mudflats at
Hythe, Hants. It has several spikes on each stem ; leaves jointed
to the sheaths and shorter than the spikes; rachis produced beyond
the uppermost spikelet ; empty glumes slightly downy. These are
rigid grasses, more or less submerged, with a rancid odour.
Polypogon monspeliensis, the Annual Beard-grass, is met with
but rarely on the south and east coasts of England. Culms tufted,
1-3 feet. Leaves flat, with very scabrid ribs. Panicle spikelike,
1-6 inches long, dense, slightly lobed, pale greenish-yellow, and
silky. Spikelets 2, inch long, I-flowered; empty glumes with
an awn, nearly three times their length, springing from the apical
notch ; flowering glume much smaller than the empty ones, some-
times mucronate. Annual, flowering June, July.
Polypogon littoralzs, the Perennial Beard-grass, usually accom-
panies the last species. It has a creeping rootstock. The panicle
is markedly lobed and purplish ; acute empty glumes, with an awn
about equalling their length ; flowering glume with an awn exceed-
ing the tip of the spikelet. Perennial, flowering July.
Our sixth is the agrarian group, comprising those grasses which
are to be found in cultivated fields, generally among corn or clover,
and on waste ground adjacent.
Avena fatua, the Wild Oat, is frequent throughout England,
but much less so in Scotland and Ireland. Culms 3 ft. Leaves
broadly linear, flat, thin with scattered hairs above. Panicle lax,
spreading on all sides. Spikelets #-1 inch long, pendulous, usually
3-flowered ; flowering glumes rounded on the back, bifid, the lower
half clothed with long fulvous hairs ; awn dorsal, kneed and twisted,
twice the length of the flowering glumes. This species closely
resembles the cultivated oat, from which it may be distinguished
by the flowering glumes being all awned, very hairy, and in fruit
dark-brown. Annual, flowering July, August.
Alopecurus agrestis, the Slender Foxtail, is common in the
south of England, where it is known as Black-grass, but becomes
scarce northward; not naturalized in Scotland and Ireland.
Culms erect, 1-2 ft.; leaves short, thin, with a few broad ribs;
ligule prominent. Panicle spikelike, dense, about 3 inches long,
narrow, tapering to a point at both ends, purplish. Spikelets +
inch long, 1-flowered ; empty glumes united nearly to the middle,
smooth, with a row of short hairs on the keel; flowering glume
with a dorsal awn twice its length ; palea absent. Annual, flower-
ing June to autumn.
Bromus secalinus, the Rye Brome, is rather thinly distributed
over England, and scarcer still in Scotland and Ireland. Culms
2 ft. or more; leaves slightly hairy, sheaths nearly glabrous.
Panicle slightly branched. Spikelets 3-2 inch long, glabrous and
about 10-flowered. This species is readily distinguished from our
other annual Bromes by the flowering glumes being loosely imbri-
CULTIVATED FIELDS 43
cate at timie of flowering and quite separate from each other when
in fruit, with the margins involute ; flowering glumes rounded on
the back, notched at the tip, and with a variable awn sometimes
as long as the flowering glume, at other times reduced to a mucro.
Var. B. velutinus has the sheaths and spikelets downy. Annual
or biennial, flowering in July.
Lolium temulentum, the Annual ‘Darnel, is found throughout
Britain, but is not frequent. Culms 2-3 ft. Leaves tapering from
the base, rough on the upper side. The spike is similar to that of
L. perenne, but the spikelets possess a well-marked character in
the long empty glume which reaches as far as, or even exceeds,
their apex ; flowering glumes terminating in an awn their own
length. Z. arvense is a variety with the awn very short or absent.
Annual, flowering during the summer months.
L. ttalicum, Italian Rye-grass, is often met with on the borders
of fields as an escape from cultivation. Culms tufted 2-3 ft.
Leaves rather broad, yellowish-green ; sheaths terete. Spikelets
diverging from the rachis, pale green, 8- to 10-flowered ; empty
glume much shorter than the spikelet; flowering glumes with a
long slender awn. Perennial or biennial.
Bromus arvensis, the Taper Field Brome, is more plentiful in
S.E. England than elsewhere. Culms 1-2 ft. ; leaves and sheaths
hairy. Branches of the panicle very long, slender and widely
spreading. Spikelets 4 inch long and about 8-flowered, lanceolate,
tinged with purple; flowering glumes with a subterminal awn
about half an inch long ; palea as long as the flowering glume.
Annual or biennial, flowering July, August.
Avena strigosa, the Bristle-pointed Oat, is rare in England, but
frequent in the north of Scotland; sparingly distributed in Ireland.
It has rather smaller spikelets than 4. fazva, all turned to one
side and 2-flowered ; flowering glumes with a dorsal awn, and
terminating in two long bristles; almost smooth, and ultimately
dark-brown. Annual, flowering in July.
Setaria viridis, the Green Bristle-grass, occurs chiefly in the
S.E. counties of England, but casually as far north as Aberdeen.
The inflorescence of the Bristle-grass is spikelike, and more or less
cylindric. The spikelets are minute, dorsally compressed, awnless,
and have long scabrid bristles on their pedicels ; they contain one
perfect flower and one staminate. In the species under notice the
culms are 4-6 inches high; leaves flat with scabrid margins ;
sheaths with a ring of hairs at the mouth. Panicle about 14 inch
long, usually pale green; the bristles, 3-6 to each spikelet, are
covered with asperities pointing forward. Annual, July, August.
Setaria verticillata, the Rough Bristle-grass, is very rare;
Norfolk, Surrey and Middlesex are the only counties recorded for
it. Culms 1-2 ft. Panicle about 2 inches long, interrupted in the
lower part, purplish. Bristles usually two to each spikelet, with
the asperities pointing backward, so that the panicle feels rough
when drawn through the hand downwards, Annual, flowering
July, August.
44 BRITISH SPECIES
Apera Spica-veniti, the Spreading Silky Bent, should be sought
for in sandy cultivated fields, particularly those which are occa-
sionally flooded ; but it is very rare, and almost confined to S.E.
England. Culms tufted, about 2 ft. Panicle with numerous
capillary branches, diffuse at time of flowering. Spikelets }, inch
long, shining, and tinged with purplish-brown, containing one
flower and a pedicel-like rudiment ; lower empty glume smaller
than the upper; flowering glume membranous, entire, with a
slender, wavy, subterminal awn 3-4 times its length; anthers linear.
Annual, flowering June, July.
Afera interrupta, the Dense-flowered Silky Bent, is a sub-
species or variety with a contracted and
interrupted panicle, the branches short
and adpressed, not spreading. Spike-
lets green; anthers oval. Extremely
rare ; Cambridge, Suffolk, Norfolk.
Panicum sanguinale, the Cocksfoot
Finger-grass (fig. 30), is a scarce corn-
field casual, found in S.E. England.
Culms about a foot, ascending ; leaves
and sheaths somewhat hairy. Spikes
about five on each culm, radiating so
as to appear digitate or fingered, 2-3
inches long. Spikelets in pairs along
one side of the rachis, 4 inch long,
acute, purple; glumes awnless, the
flowering one smooth. Annual, flower-
ing July, August.
Panicum Crus-galli, the Loose Panic-
grass, is equally rare. The leaves are
harsh, glabrous, and without a ligule.
Spikelets 4 inch long, crowded on the
: . alternate partial spikes which thus re-
Fig. 30.—Panicum sauguinale semble lobes, green or tinged with pur-
showing radiating spikes: figures f . 3
on left enlarged, the lower apair Ple; third glume tipped with a mucro
of spikelets (one of them pedi- or short awn. Annual, flowering July,
celled); upper figure, the two
basal empty glumes (one minute). August. In both these grasses, the in-
florescence consists of several spikes
either fingered or forming a lobed panicle; the spikelets are
flattened dorsally, and contain one perfect flower together with a
staminate one beneath, or a third empty glume ; the lowest empty
glume is very minute ; fruiting glume indurated and polished.
Briza minor, the Small Quaking-grass, occurs in dry sandy
fields, generally among corn, in the extreme south of England,
from Hants to Cornwall, but is very rare; in Jersey and Guernsey
frequent. Culms 6-10 inches, tufted; leaves short, yellowish-
green; ligule long and pointed. Spikelets similar to those of
B. media, but smaller, barely 4 inch long and pale green ; empty
glumes longer than the flowering ones. Annual, flowering July.
ROADSIDES AND WASTE PLACES 45
In our seventh group are the grasses which are not partial to
any of the habitats already mentioned, and which grow by road-
sides and in waste places, or on wall-tops, or in sandy and chalky
flelds. Two or three of them occur in other habitats as well, but
most abundantly on waste ground.
Poa annua, the Annual Meadow-grass (frontispiece) is the
commonest grass in Britain, growing abundantly in every con-
ceivable habitat, but especially in waste places, garden ground,
by roads and footpaths, and in pastures; it even grows in the
crevices of street pavement. Culms tufted, weak, ascending or
prostrate, and sometimes rooting below, 2 inches to a foot high;
leaves flat, linear, often transversely
wrinkled, ribless but keeled, the apex
suddenly pointed, and concave or
“hooded.” Panicle deltoid and
rather one-sided, the branches mostly
paired, the longer one spreading
laterally, the other in front. Spike-
lets 4 inch long and about 5-flowered;
glumes compressed, keeled, acute,
awnless, not webbed. The whole
plant is flaccid and bright green;
annual or biennial, flowering March
to December. All our other species
of Poa are perennial.
Agropyrum repens, the Common
Couch (fig. 31), is very abundant
in waste places, on field borders and
arable land, and we have never seen
a hedgebank from which it was ab-
sent; it is universally distributed.
Rootstock extensively creeping, with
long subterranean stolons. Leaves
flat, rather broadly linear-lanceolate, Y
usually hairy on the upper surface, Fic. 31.—Agropyrum repens : cen-
with numerous faint, unequal, slightly tral figure, the spike; on right hand
a que . 5 spikelet enlarged ; on left, a/flower,
scabrid ribs, auricled ; ligule scarcely enclosed in its glume and palea, more
more than a margin. Culms 2-4 ft. enlarged.
Spike 3-4 inches long, or more.
Spikelets sessile, broadside to the rachis, one in each excavation,
4-2 inch long, 4- or 5-flowered ; empty glumes nearly equal, the
flowering ones acute or mucronate or, var. A. darbatum, with a
short, stiff awn. Perennial, flowering July, August.
Arrhenatherum avenaceum, the False Oat, is a common grass by
roadsides and hedgerows, and is frequent, too, in meadows,
pastures and woods; distributed all over Britain. Rootstock
extensively creeping. Leaves flat, broadly linear-lanceolate, with
low unequal ribs, slightly hairy above; ligule short, toothed.
Culms 2-4 ft., the basal internodes often swollen into little knobs
(var. A. nodosum) whence the popular name of Onion Couch,
46 BRITISH SPECIES
Panicle long, lax, and spreading, the branches several at each
insertion, and very unequal in length. Spikelets 4 inch long, pale
green or purplish, 2-flowered ; the lower flower is staminate and
its glume has a long kneed and twisted dorsal awn; the upper
flower bisexual, its glume with a short, straight, subterminal awn.
Perennial, flowering close of June to autumn.
Hordeum murinum, the Wall Barley, is a familiar grass in dry
waste places and on banks by roadsides ; common in England,
rare in Scotland and Irelarfd. It has a curious predilection for
growing along the bottom of walls and in the vicinity of houses.
Culms 6-18 inches. Leaves very flaccid, tapering above, hairy on
both surfaces, auricled; sheaths in-
flated, and except the lowest, glab-
rous. Spike about 2 inches long,
bristly, with long awns. Spikelets
three in each notch of the rachis,
about 4 inch long, 1-flowered, the
lateral spikelets staminate, central
one bisexual ; empty glumes of the
middle spikelet linear-lanceolate, of
the lateral spikelets bristle-like and
scabrid, all with a terminal awn
about twice their length ; one of the
empty glumes of each lateral spike-
let is usually ciliated; flowering
glumes with an awn considerably
exceeding those of the empty glumes.
All the awns are scabrid. Annual
or biennial, flowering early July to
autumn.
Bromus sterilis, the Barren Brome
(Fig. 32), is very often seen in dry
waste places and on roadside banks,
usually under the shelter of hedges ;
widely distributed. Culms about 2
_ Fic. 32.—Bromus sterilis: droop- feet, “Leaves tapering above, more
ing panicle ; below, enlarged, a flower- é :
ing glume (showing long subterminal OF less hairy; ligule lanceolate.
awn) with its palea and flower. Panicle with long, slender, arch-
ing branches, 3-5 at the lower in-
sertions, most of them bearing only one spikelet. Spikelets
about an inch long (exclusive of the awns), 7- to 10-flowered, pale
green, or tinted with purple ; empty glumes very unequal, the upper
3-nerved, lower 1-nerved ; flowering glumes strongly 7-nerved,
bifid, with a straight, subterminal, scabrid awn about an inch long.
A handsome grass, recognizable at once by its large drooping long-
awned spikelets. Annual or biennial, flowering latter part of
une.
: Phalaris canariensis, the Common Canary-grass, is often met
with as a casual in waste places about towns and villages, and on
the borders of cultivated fields where refuse has been deposited.
SANDY AND CHALKY GROUND 47
Culms about 2 feet. Leaves flat, broad, tapering from the base,
striated and auricled ; ligule prominent; topmost sheath much
inflated. Spikelets crowded and regularly imbricated into a small
compact egg-shaped head, 1-1} inches long ; the spikelets are +
inch long and contain one perfect flower, and beneath it two
rudimentary glumes (small lanceolate scales) ; glumes awnless, the
empty ones with a winged keel, pale yellow with a green stripe on
each side ; flowering glume polished. Annual, flowering in July.
Growing on dry banks and wall-tops, in gravelly waste places,
and pastures :—
Aira precox, the Early Hair-grass, is frequent all over Britain.
Culms tufted, capillary, 1-4 inches high. Leaves very short and
setaceous. Panicle 3-1 inch long, with very short scarcely divided
branches, pale green. Spikelets few, about 3 inch long, 2-
flowered without any rudiment ; flowering glumes with two longish
teeth at the apex, also with a kneed and twisted dorsal awn nearly
twice their length. Annual, flowering May or early June.
Aira caryophyllea, the Silvery Hair-grass, is closely allied to
the last species, and not less frequent. Culms taller, 6-8 inches ;
leaves setaceous, sheaths roughish when stroked downwards,
Branches of the panicle triply-forked and spreading. Spikelets
silvery-grey. Annual, coming into flower rather later than A.
pracox.
Festuca myurus, the Mousetail Fescue, is a rather scarce grass
found in the southern half of England and in Ireland. Culms
1-1 feet; leaves extremely narrow, convolute and _bristle-like.
Panicle very narrow, unilateral, and nodding, 6 inches or more in
length, branched only at the base, the branches adpressed to the
rachis. Spikelets about 4 inch long, 5-8-flowered ; upper empty
glume three times as long as the lower; flowering glumes entire,
tapering into an awn exceeding their own length. There is usually
but one stamen in each flower. Annual, flowering close of June.
Festuca ambigua, the Ambiguous Fescue, is a smaller variety
with an erect, dense, fusiform panicle, the upper empty glume 3-6
times as long as the lower one; it occurs on the south coast in
loose sand, but is very rare. /. scéurotdes, the Barren Fescue, a
sub-species of /. myurus, is rather frequent all over Britain.
Culms 6-I0 inches high. Panicle narrowly oblong, about 3 inches
long ; upper empty glume about twice as long as the lower.
Glyceria rigida, the Hard Sweet-grass, is a wiry little annual,
frequent in England, scarcer in Scotland and Ireland ; calcareous
soil suits it best. Culms slender, 3-4 inches high. Panicle about
2 inches long, purplish, with very short distichous branches, each
bearing 3-5 spikelets which are ¢ inch long and about 7-flowered ;
flowering glumes quite separate from each other (not imbricate),
faintly 3-nerved, and with a scarious slightly mucronate tip. Flower-
ing June, July.
Poa compressa, the Flat-stemmed Meadow-grass, is not un-
frequent in England, but very scarce in Scotland and Ireland.
Rootstock extensively creeping, stoloniferous. Leaves narrowly
48 BRITISH SPECIES
linear, dull green ; sheaths greatly compressed; ligule truncate.
Culms 13-2 feet, decumbent. Panicle somewhat unilateral with
short branches, 2-3 at the lower insertions. Spikelets 4 inch or
rather more in length, 4- to 8-flowered ; glumes compressed, keeled, |
and awnless, the flowering ones slightly webbed, and with three
faint hairy nerves. Perennial, floweringin July. Var. P. polynoda
has the flowering glumes free, faintly 5-nerved ; dry stony places.
Growing in sandy or chalky fields :—
Bromus erectus, the Upright Perennial Brome, is found on dry
pastures and wayside banks, and is not unfrequent in the S. and E.
parts of England, although of rare occurrence elsewhere in Britain.
Rootstock shortly creeping, densely tufted.
Leaves long and extremely narrow, clothed
with scattered hairs on both surfaces, mar-
gins conspicuously fringed, culms 2 feet or
more. Panicle branches 2-3 at each in-
sertion, nearly erect, and most of them bear-
ing a solitary spikelet. Spikelets an inch
long, purplish and about 8-flowered ; empty
glumes respectively 1- and 3-nerved, flower-
ing ones faintly 7-nerved, with a subter-
minal awn about half their length ; anthers
large, orange-coloured. Perennial, flower-
ing close of June, July. Var. B. villosus
has the flowering glumes hairy all over.
Brachypodium pinnatum, the Heath
False Brome (Fig. 33), is not unfrequent
on downs, heaths and dry pastures in the
south and east of England, showing a de-
cided partiality for chalky and limestone
soils ; it is not known to occur in any other
part of Britain. Rootstock creeping,
stoloniferous. Leaves firm, ultimately in-
. _ volute, clothed with very short hairs or
See ee glabrous, margins not ciliate. Culms 1-2
right, mouth of sheath en- ft. The inflorescence is similar to that of
larged to show ligule. B. sylvaticum, but the spike is erect, and
the awn is shorter than the flowering glume,
sometimes indeed only a mucro. The spikelets are about an inch
long and nearly erect, Perennial, flowering in July.
Phleum phalaroides, the Purple-stemmed Catstail, is a rare
species found in sandy and chalky fields in the eastern counties of
England. Rootstock tufted, stoloniferous. Culms about a foot
high. Panicle narrowly cylindric and dense, 2-4 inches long.
Spikelets 4 inch long, 1-flowered, with a stalk-like rudiment ; empty
glumes abruptly narrowed into a short, stiff awn, and the keel
ciliated, with short distant hairs ; flowering glume minute, awnless.
Perennial, flowering in July.
Bromus madritensis, the Upright Annual Brome, is occasionally
met with in dry sandy places in the southern half of England,
‘
MOUNTAINS 49
chiefly near the coast; Channel Islands, Culms 6-12 inches.
Leaves narrow, more or,less hairy. Panicle erect, the few branches
rather close, scarcely divided, and shorter, than the spikelets.
Spikelets ?-17 inch long, wedge-shaped, 8- to 10-flowered ; flower-
ing glumes not imbricated, with a slender subterminal awn about
their own length, and ultimately curved; stamens usually two.
Annual or biennial, flowering close of June. Var. B. rigtdus has
a dense panicle, the rachis, pedicels and glumes downy.
Panicum glabrum, the Smooth Finger-grass, occurs in sandy
places in S.E. England, but is extremely rare. It is closely
allied to P. sanguznale. Culms 6 inches, prostrate or decumbent ;
leaves and sheaths glabrous. Culms usually bearing three digi-
tate spikes about 13 inch in length. Spikelets 4, inch long, on one
side of the rachis, in pairs ; one spikelet sessile, the other pedicelled ;
dorsally compressed, downy, purplish, each containing one flower
and a third empty glume; lowest empty glume minute or absent.
Annual, flowering in July, August.
Our last is the alpine group of grasses, all, with the exception of
fierochloe boreaits, restricted to high mountains.
4 Growing in crevices and on ledges of rock, and among rocky
ebris :—
Poa alpina, the Alpine Meadow-grass, is the commonest of our
mountain grasses, abundant in the Highlands ; also found on the
Cumbrian mountains and Snowdon ; West of Ireland. The root-
stock is stout, shortly creeping. Culms about a foot high, rather
wiry, the base of each thickly clothed with decayed leaf-sheaths and
thus having a bulbous appearance by which the species can be un-
mistakably distinguished from all its allies. Leaves broadly
linear, thick, firm, keeled, abruptly pointed and hooded, slightly
glaucous ; ligule very prominent. Panicle erect, the branches
usually in pairs, spreading. Spikelets + inch, usually purplish, 4-
or 5-flowered ; glumes compressed, keeled and awnless, as in all
species of Poa; the flowering ones free, ze. not webbed, with
three of the five faint nerves silky-hairy. Perennial, flowering in
June, July ; commonly viviparous.
Deschampsia alpina, the Alpine Hair-grass, is plentiful on the
Braemar mountains, Lochnagar, etc.; it is regarded by some as a
sub-species or variety of D. cespitosa, from which it differs in the
following characters : leaves short, culms 6-12 inches; panicle
branches quite smooth. Spikelets nearly inch long ; awn inserted
above the middle of the flowering glume. Usually viviparous.
Perennial, flowering late summer and autumn.
Poa laxa, the Wavy Meadow-grass, is a rare native of the loftier
mountains of Inverness and Aberdeen, as Ben Nevis and Loch-
nagar. The rootstock is rather slender, densely tufted, not creep-
ing ; leaves thin, flaccid, narrowly linear, channelled, hooded at
the tip ; ligule very prominent, lacerate. Culms 6-9 inches, weak
and bending. Panicle lax, slightly drooping, the lower branches
generally paired, closed in fruit. Spikelets 3-flowered ; flowering
H. G. E
x
50 BRITISH SPECIES
glumes slightly webbed and with three of the nerves silky-hairy.
Perennial, flowering July, August. Poa stricta, the Straight-
stemmed Meadow-grass, 1s very closely related, but the stems are
firm and straight ; the leaves taper gradually to the point and are
flat throughout, not hooded. Branches of the panicle spreading in
fruit. Nearly always viviparous.
Growing by springs and rills :—
Alopecurus alpinus, the Alpine Foxtail, is not unfrequent in the
Clova glens, and is abundant on Lochnagar. Rootstock stoloni-
ferous; leaves thick with very prominent ribs. Culms about a
foot high. Panicle dense, ovoid-oblong, not more than an inch in
length, purple. Spikelets 2 inch long, 1-flowered ; empty glumes
united for about one-fourth of their length, awnless, the keel ciliated
with very long hairs ; flowering glume with a dorsal awn scarcely
extending beyond its tip or sometimes absent, or (var. Watsonz)
exceeding the glumes by about one-third of their length ; no palea.
Perennial, flowering in July.
Phieum alpinum, the Alpine Catstail, is found in the same locali-
ties as the last-named, and its panicle is very similar, but recogniz-
able at a glance by its bristly aspect. Rootstock somewhat
creeping, with short stolons; leaves short, flat, uppermost sheath
inflated. Culms about 12 inches. Spikelets 4 inch long, I-
flowered ; empty glumes truncate with a rigid scabrid awn their
own length, the keel ciliated with long stiff hairs ; flowering glume
awnless. Perennial, flowering in July.
Hierochloe borealis, the Northern Holy-grass, is only known to
exist in one British locality, viz.on the banks of Thurso River,
Caithness. Rootstock creeping, stoloniferous ; leaves flat, taper-
ing. Culms about a foot. Panicle widely spreading, its branches
capillary and flexuous. Spikelets 4 inch long, brown and shining,
3-flowered ; the two lower flowers male with three stamens each ;
the uppermost flower perfect with two stamens ; glumes keeled,
awnless, the empty ones nearly as long as the spikelet, the flower-
ing ones mucronate, scarcely awned; palea of the perfect flower
I-nerved. Perennial, flowering in May and June ; sweet-scented.
There are also mountain forms of—
Avena pratensis ; leaves broader than in the lowland species;
lower sheaths much compressed; some of the branches of the
panicle bearing 2-3 spikelets. Var. A. alpina.
Molinia cerulea, var. depauperata; spikelets few, 1-fl., green.
Deschampsia flexuosa, var. montana ; leaves shorter, spikelets
larger and more purplish than in the normal form.
There are several rare alpine forms of Poa nemoralts (P. glauca,
P. cesia, P. Balfouriz), variously regarded as species or varieties,
but there is no accordance among botanists as to their differential
characters.
Festuca ovina, described in the heath and upland group, is very
plentiful on mountains, reaching the highest summits, where it is
often viviparous. Var. Zezuifolia has longer radical leaves, and the
flowering glumes not awned, but mucronate.
CHAPTER III
Classification
THE Graminee@ as a family are readily distinguished from all
other plants; the most {nearly related order is the Cyeracee
(Sedges), but differing from the grasses in many characters, ¢.g.
the three-sided stems, entire leafsheaths, absence of ligule ; flowers
without a palea, anthers basifixed and entire at the apex, styles
solitary with simple, not feathery, stigmas ; ovary surrounded by
bristles or enclosed in an urceolate (bottle-shaped) bracteole or
perigynium ; embryo at the base of the endosperm, not lateral.
But while the grasses are such a very natural family, their classifi-
cation into primary division, tribes, and genera is more difficult
perhaps than that of any other order of plants. The flowers and
fruit are of very little value for this purpose, and the characters are
mainly drawn from the structure of the spikelets and the various
modifications of the glumes. None of the groups can be defined
one from another absolutely, as there are ambiguous or intermedi-
ate forms connecting them, the result being a network of genera
related in different ways and various degrees. We shall give, as
plainly as possible, a short account of Bentham’s classification and
a synopsis of the British genera, noting the exceptions as they
occur in the different tribes.
The grasses are divided into two great series, Pandcacee and
Poacee, and this primary division is founded upon a combination
of two kinds of characters: first, the articulation of the spikelet
upon the pedicel, or the articulation of the rachilla (axis of the
spikelet) ; secondly, the position of the imperfect flower or third
empty glume or rudiment (when present) in relation to the bi-
sexual flower, that is, whether situated above or below it.
We have seen, when considering the structure of the spikelet,
that the significance of the articulation lies in the fact that it
determines the manner in which the fruit is liberated. If, for ex-
ample, the spikelet is jointed upon its pedicel, when the fruit
matures the entire spikelet will drop off. This is what takes place
m the Panicacee ; normally, not a glume remains on the rachis or
branches of the panicle after the fruit is dispersed.
In the Poacee the spikelets are not (with some exceptions)
jointed on the pedicel ; the articulation is in the rachilla, so that
when the fruit is mature each internode of the rachilla breaks away,
5r
52
carrying with it a fruiting glume (fig. 34).
CLASSIFICATION
The pair of empty
glumes at the base of the spikelet remain attached to the pedicel ;
Fic. 34. — A fruiting
glume of Dactylis glom-
erata: ya piece (inter-
node) of the rachilla ; the
glume next above (in the
spikelet) was seated on
the top of it; g margin
of glume inflected over /,
the palea ; grain conceal-
ed between glume and
palea.
this is shown in fig. 35, which compare with
fig. 14, showing the spikelets of the same plant
when in flower. The articulation is not always
evident at time of flowering, but in the fruiting
season it can be detected by the facility with
which the fruiting glume can be broken off.
We thus see that in the Pandcacee the empty
glumes are deciduous; in the Poacee per-
sistent in fruit. In the case of 1-flowered
spikelets of Poacee, the rachilla is that minute
fragment, by some termed the callus, embraced
by the base of the flowering glume, and the
joint or articulation is between this fragment
and the pedicel, z.e. above the empty glumes.
With regard to the second character on
which the primary division is based, in the
Panicacee the imperfect (staminate) flower, or
additional empty or rudimentary glume, is
always situated below the bisexual flower ; in
other words, the imperfection is near the base
of the spikelet. There are never more than
four glumes, the two lowest of which are
empty ; the next, ze. the third one, may also
be empty, or it may enclose a palea or a
male flower; the fourth, ze. the uppermost
glume, encloses the bisexual flower.
In the Poacez, on the other hand, the im-
perfection is in the upper part of the spikelet ; the male flower
or‘ additional empty glume or rudiment (when present) being at
Fic. 35.—Portion of panicle
of Bromus mollis, after shed-
ding of fruit, showing the per-
sistent empty glumes.
the apex of the spikelet, z.e. terminal ; hence
it is sometimes spoken of as the produced
rachilla. The spikelets may contain one
or any number of bisexual flowers, and
have accordingly three or more glumes ;
some species of Lragrostis have as many
as 50 flowering glumes in a spikelet.
Series A. PANICACEA:. Spikelets
articulated to the pedicel (below the empty
glumes), containing one bisexual flower,
with a male flower or third empty glume
or rudiment beneath. Only two tribes are
represented in Britain, viz. :—
Tribe PANICE. The principal character
is the hardening of the flowering glume
around the fruit ; flowering glume awnless.
There are three British genera :
Genus I.
Panicum.
Rachis compound, spikes often spreading
like fingers from a common insertion (digitate), or panicle lobed ;
BRITISH TRIBES AND GENERA 53
spikelets flattened dorsally; no bristles; lowest empty glume much
smaller than the second one, sometimes rudimentary (fig. 30).
2. Setfaria. Panicle dense, spike-like, with numerous bristles
on the pedicels, which remain after the spikelets fall off; spikelets
dorsally compressed.
3. Spartina. Rachis compound ; spikes appressed ; spikelets
much flattened laterally ; styles united for half their length.
Tribe ORYZE#. Inflorescence paniculate ; spikelets laterally
compressed ; glumes 3 or 1; empty glumes minute or absent ;
palea with one nerve or keel; stamens variable, 6, 2 or 1. We
have only one representative of this tribe in Britain, viz. :—
Genus 4. Leersia. Empty glumes absent, flowering glume
translucent, stamens 3.
Series B. POACE/:. Spikelets rarely articulated to the
pedicel, the articulation being above the empty glumes, ze. in the
rachilla ; the male flower or additional empty glume or rudiment
(when present) is usually terminal; spikelets containing one or
many bisexual flowers. Six tribes are represented in Britain.
Tribe PHALARIDE&. Spikelets with one bisexual flower, and
two staminate ones or two additional empty glumes or rudiments
beneath ; no terminal rudiment ; glumes 6, or 5 anda palea. The
position of the imperfect flowers or rudimentary glumes, beneath
the bisexual flower, is an exception to one of the characters of the
Poacee. Another peculiarity of this tribe is that the palea of the
terminal flower is 1-nerved or keeled, so that it is doubtful whether
it be a glume or a palea ; strictly speaking, the term pale aapplies
to a 2-nerved scale attached to the secondary axis of the spikelet.
This is also the case in the tribe Ovyze@, which has close affinities
with the Phalaridee ; these tribes, therefore, may be regarded as
transitional between the two primary series, There are three
British genera :
Genus 5. Phalaris. Third and fourth glumes small and
empty, or aborted and simply represented by pedicels.
6. Anthoxanthum. Third and fourth glumes empty, awned ;
flower bisexual with two stamens, its glume awnless (fig. 13).
7. Hierochloe. Two lower flowers staminate (3 stamens each) ;
terminal flower bisexual, with two stamens.
Tribe AGROSTIDE. Spikelets with one bisexual flower, ter-
minal, or sometimes with a stalklike rudiment (continuation of the
rachilla) above it; glumes not more than three. The British
genera whose spikelets have no rudiment are : ,
Genus 8. Adzléum. Panicle widely spreading ; spikelets minute,
terete ; glumes neither keeled norawned ; fruiting glume indurated.
. Alopecurus. Panicle cylindric, dense; spikelets articu-
lated to the pedicel; flowering glume with a dorsal awn ; palea
when present I-nerved, but in the British species absent. The
articulation of the spikelet to the pedicel is one of the characters
of Poaceg, and if the 1-nerved palea be regarded as a glume, then
we have here both characters of that series, but the habit of A/opfe-
curus (fig. 36) is identical with that of Phlewm.
54 CLASSIFICATION
to. Phleum. Panicle cylindric, dense ; flowering glume rarely
awned ; when present, the awn is terminal. In some species the
spikelet has a rudiment (fig. 18).
( 11. AMzibora. Spikelets terete, minute, few in a simple spike
fig. 28).
12, Agrostis. Panicle usually spreading; flowering glume
thin and colourless; palea absent in some species (fig. 23).
13. Polypogon. Panicle dense ; empty glumes with long awns.
The spikelets are articulated to the pedicel.
14. Calamagrostis. Flowering glume with a tuft of hairs at
its base on the rachilla.
In the following genera the spikelets
have a rudimentary glume or naked
pedicel, above the bisexual flower :
15. Gastridium. Base of each empty
glume swollen into a round prominence,
and ultimately indurated; flowering
glume minute, hyaline.
16. Afpera. Flowering glume with a
long subterminal awn.
17. Deyeuxia. Flowering glume
with a tuft of hair at its base, and dor-
sally awned.
18, Ammophila, Panicle dense ;
spikelets large, rigid; flowering glume
with a tuft of hairs at its base, anda
very minute subterminal awn.
19. Lagurus, Empty glumes fringed
with long silky hairs on the margins,
and therefore plumose or feathery.
Spikelets massed into an ovoid head ;
flowering glume with a long dorsal and
Hie tesa _, two terminal awns.
eenialencine Fare pa el The genera Calamagrostis, Deyeuxia
ed); lower figures enlarged—the and Azzmophila are closely allied, and
left a spikelet, the right same, these again are nearly related to Agvos-
minus empty glumes to showdor- ,. :
sally awned flowering glume. dts. In the last named there is not a
decided ring of hairs at the base of
the flowering glume, nor is there any rudiment.
Tribe AVENE. Spikelets containing two or more flowers, and
often a terminal rudiment; flowering glume with a bent and twisted
awn on the back. The distinctive tribal character is the dorsal
awn which, in the lower part below the bend or knee, is spirally
twisted. The following genera, with the exception of Azra, have
a terminal rudiment or empty glume, and there is often a tuft of
hairs at the base of the flowering glume. ;
Genus 20. Azra. Flowers two, bisexual ; no rudiment.
21. Corynephorus. Awn jointed in the middle, and thickened
towards the tip (club-shaped).
22. Deschampsia. Awn short, nearly straight (fig. 37).
BRITISH TRIBES AND GENERA 55
_ Insome species of Azra and Deschampséa, the twist of the awn
is scarcely perceptible.
23. Tvrisetum. Spikelets small, much flattened laterally, 2- to
6-flowered ; flowering glume keeled, with a long dorsal awn, and
tipped with two short awns or sete.
24. Avena. Spikelets large, 2- to 6-flowered ; flowering glumes
Pa ‘aaa on the back (keelless), and with a long dorsal awn
g. 20).
In the next two genera, the spike-
lets contain two flowers, one of which
is staminate (with stamens only).
25. Holcus. Lower flower bi-
sexual, its glume awnless; upper
flower staminate, its glume awned
(fig. 8).
26. Arrhenatherum. Lower flower
staminate and its glume awned;
upper flower bisexual (the reverse
of Holcus).
Tribe CHLORIDE&. Spikelets
sessile in two rows on one side of
the rachis, I- or more-flowered, with
a terminal rudiment ; glumes keeled,
and spikelets compressed laterally :
rachis neither notched nor jointed.
The inflorescence is very like that
of some Panicacee, but the rudi-
ment is terminal, and the empty
glumes are persistent.
Genus 27. Cynodon. Rachis
compound, spikes fingered ;_ spike-
lets 1-flowered.
Tribe FESTUCE&. Spikelets con-
taining two or many flowers, and
often aterminal rudimentary glume ;
Fic. 37.—Deschampsia caespitosa;
. left-hand figures enlarged—the lower
awn absent, or terminal or subter- a spikelet, the upper a flowering glume,
minal, not twisted, straight. There etc., showing short straight dorsal
awh,
are eight sub-tribes, of which six are
represented in Britain.
Sub-tribe TRIODIE&. Spikelets 2- or more-flowered; flower-
ing glumes tipped with three teeth, lobes or short awns.
Genus 28. Z?iodia. Flowering glumes with three broad teeth.
Sub-tribe ARUNDINEZ. Spikelets 2- or more-flowered; flower-
ing glumes enveloped in long silky hairs growing on the rachilla.
29. Phragmites. Lowest flower staminate (fig. 38).
Sub-tribe SESLERIEZ. Inflorescence spikelike, or capitate (in
the form of a head), with bracts (empty glumes) either at the base
or forming sterile spikelets.
30. Sesleria. Pedicels of lower spikelets sheathed by a simple
bract or empty glume (fig. 21).
56 CLASSIFICATION
31. Cynosurus. Fertile spikelets accompanied each by a
spikelet of empty glumes (fig. 16).
Sub-tribe ERAGROSTEA. Spikelets 2- or more-flowered ; flower-
ing glumes 3-nerved.
32. Koeleria, Panicle spikelike ; spikelets compressed ;
flowering glumes keeled, translucent.
33. Molinia. Panicle contracted ; spikelets oblong ; flowering
glumes rounded on the back, firm and coloured.
34. Catabrosa. Panicle
spreading widely; spikelets
wedge-shaped; glumes with
very blunt erose tips (fig. 24).
Sub-tribe MELICE. Spike-
lets 2- or more-flowered, with
two or more terminal empty
glumes.
35. Melica. Terminal ru-
dimentary glumes convolute,
forming a club-shaped body
(fig. 26).
Sub - tribe EUFESTUCE#.
Spikelets 3- or many-flowered ;
flowering glume with five or
more nerves ; awn, when pre-
sent, terminal or, sometimes,
subterminal, never dorsal or
twisted.
36. Dactylis. Spikelets in
dense clusters. Panicle and
clusters one-sided (fig. 15).
37. Briza. Spikelets nod-
ding or pendulous; glumes
very deeply boat-shaped (al-
most vesicular), broad, rounded
on the back, awnless, obtuse,
closely imbricate (fig. 19).
38. Poa. Flowering glumes
Fic. satin Nea communis: a lower compressed and keeled
portion of panicle 4 wo smkelets, twice throughout their entire length,
with empty glumes and lowest flower removed acute, never awned ; nerves
to expose the bearded rachilla. reaching the tip (fig. 7).
Glycerta. Flowering
glumes rounded on the back, awnless ; nerves usually falling short
of the blunt scarious tip. Sometimes the glumes are keeled near
the apex, but not below (figs. 22 and 27).
40. Festuca. Flowering glumes rounded on the back, acute,
mucronate or awned ; sometimes keeled in the upper part, not
below ; ovary smooth (fig. 17).
41. Bromus. Flowering glumes rounded on the back, with the
tip notched or bifid, and awned from the notch ; top of ovary
hairy; styles lateral, 2.2. inserted below the apex (figs. 14 and 32).
WORLD’S TRIBES AND LEADING GENERA 57
42. Brachypodium. Spikelets on extremely short pedicels, so
as to appear sessile on the rachis, the inflorescence spikelike (figs.
25 and 33). Flowering glumes awned.
lt is important to note carefully the generic characters of Poa,
Glycerta, and Festuca. These three genera are all well repre-
sented in our flora, and many of the species are very abundant ;
inattention to the characters which distinguish these genera one
from another would therefore lead to confusion.
Tribe HORDEE&. Spikelets sessile, in notches
or excavations of the simple rachis (inflorescence
truly spiked). A very simple character, and there
is no possibility of mistaking this tribe. The notched
rachis is well shown in fig. 39. There are three
sub-tribes. cad ‘
Sub-tribe TRITICEA. Spikelets one in each notch
of the rachis, many-flowered.
Genus 43. Lolium, Back of the glumes towards
the rachis (spikelets edgewise).
44. Agropyrum. Margins of the flowering
glumes against the rachis (spikelets broadside) (fig.
31). ;
Sub-tribe LEPTUREA. Spikelets one in each
notch, 1-, rarely 2-flowered.
45. Lepturus. Empty glumes two in the British
species (fig. 29).
46. Mardus. Empty glumes absent.
Sub-tribe ELYME&. Two or three spikelets at
each excavation.
47. Hordeum. Spikelets containing one flower
‘and a rudiment, many-awned.
48. Elymus. Spikelets 2- or more-flowered, not
awned in the British species. Auoaa— Spike
So far, we have only considered the British tribes (yyy “oudyare:
and genera; to have incorporated with them the spikelets remov-
exotic tribes would only have served to confuse the °¢ from lower
2 i . " part to show (g)
beginner. The following complete list (which the notches or excav-
student may ignore altogether if he chooses, or at ations of the
least until he has mastered the British genera) of ™°"*
tribes, and the more important genera, is given be-
cause many of the latter are mentioned in the chapters on Dis-
tribution and Uses.
Series A. PANICACEA, described in the preceding pages, is
divided into six tribes, viz. : :
PANICE#, characters already given. This tribe comprises
thirty genera, the leading ones being Panicum, Paspalum, Pennt-
setum, Olyra,
MAYDE#. Spikelets always unisexual, male ones in the upper
part ot the inflorescence, female spikelets in the lower part; or
(in Parana) male spikelets surrounding the females at each node.
This is a tribe of eight small genera, tropical or American, in-
cluding Zea Mazs (maize) and Cotx lachryma.
58 CLASSIFICATION
ORYZEA, characters already given, comprises nine genera,
mostly tropical or American, including Oryza sat¢va (cultivated
rice) and Zizania aguatica.
TRISTEGINE®. Spikelets solitary. (rarely paired or clustered)
on the inarticulate branches of the panicle ; flowering glume thin,
often hyaline, and frequently with a terminal bent awn, This
4 a tribe of twelve genera, mostly tropical, the chief being
Arundinella,
ZOYSIEH. Spikelets scattered singly, or clustered along the
inarticulate rachis or pedicels of the inflorescence ; fruiting spike-
lets often falling off in little clusters; flowering glumes often
smaller than the empty, and hyaline. A tribe of thirteen small
genera, the typical one Zoysza.
ANDROPOGONEA. Spikelets in pairs at each node of the
jointed rachis or branches of the inflorescence, or terminal in
triplets ; flowering glume much smaller than the lower or empty
ones, hyaline, and often with a bent or twisted awn. Sometimes
one of the spikelets of each pair is imperfect or rudimentary.
This tribe comprises twenty-six genera, mostly tropical or sub-
tropical, the largest Andropogon ; other large genera are Pollina,
Ischamum, Chrysopogon, Rottbellia, This tribe includes also
Saccharum (S. officinarum, the sugar cane) and Sorghum (S.
vulgare, dourra).
Series B. POACE, described in the preceding pages, is
divided into seven tribes, viz. :
PHALARIDE&, characters already given. Nine genera, Phalaris
being the typical one, ZArharta the largest.
AGROSTIDEA, characters already given. Thirty-eight genera,
the largest Aristida, Stipa, Muehlenbergia, Sporobolus, Agrostis,
Deyeuxta.
AVENEA, characters already given, comprises twenty-two genera,
Danthonia being by far the largest. Other leading genera are
Trisetum, Avena, Eviachue, Deschampsia.
CHLORIDE, characters already given, contains twenty-eight
genera, mostly tropical or subtropical, the typical and largest one
being Chloris. Includes Bouteloua and Eleusine.
FESTUCE&, characters already given, is the largest tribe of all,
comprising sixty-nine genera, the more important of which are
Eragrostis, Poa, Festuca, Bromus, Glyceria, Melica, Triodia,
Pappophorum.
HORDEEA, characters already given, contains twelve genera,
the more important of which are Hordeum (including the culti-
vated barleys), Zrz¢écum (wheat and spelt), Secale (rye), and Agro-
pyrum, differing technically from Zyz¢¢cum in the lateral nerves of
the flowering glume not running parallel, but converging towards
the tip. ;
BAMBUSE&. Culms ligneous (woody) and commonly arbores-
cent; leaves usually jointed to the sheaths; spikelets 1- or many-
flowered, awnless ; lodicules three. This tribe comprises twenty-
two genera, the leading ones Bambusa, Arundinaria and Chusquea.
CHAPTER IV
Geographical Distribution
GRASSES are at once the most abundant and the most universally
distributed of all flowering plants ; there is no hiatus in their world-
wide diffusion ; they flourish in every part of the earth where vege-
tation can exist. The Graminee number 3,100-3,200 species, and
are therefore among the largest families of flowering plants, ranking
only after the Composite, 10,000 species, and the Orchidee and
Leguminosa@, about half as numerous. The number of species of
grasses, in proportion to the total number of species of flowering
plants, is about ¢ in arctic and antarctic regions, about 7; in
temperate climates, and from ~; to j; within the tropics ;
but in countless myriads of individuals the grasses far surpass
every other order, and growing ez masse as they commonly do,
they constitute in many, if not most, regions the grand character-
istic feature of the flora. Treeless, grassy plains are estimated to
occupy rather more than one-fourth of the land-surface of the
lobe,
e The cooler parts of the north temperate zone are characterized
by dwarf tender grasses, with short, slender leaves, forming a close
continuous turf. In low fertile plains the culms grow for the most
part 2-3 feet high ; on hillsides and elevated tablelands with a
poorer soil, they are much shorter ; in shady and swampy situa-
tions they rise to 4-6 feet, and have proportionately larger foliage.
Where an insular climate prevails, with frequent rains, a humid
atmosphere and temperate summer heat, and in mountainous
regions whose slopes and valleys are irrigated throughout the
warm months by melting snow, the earth is covered with a thick
matted, velvety, evergreen sward. In no part of the world do we
find such a beautiful “carpet of living green” as in the western
parts of Great Britain, the “Emerald Isle” and the alpine pastures
of Middle Europe. Under a continental climate of scorching
summer heat and low winter temperature, the grasses do not form
such a compact sod, and the green turf which clothes the ground
in spring soon becomes brown and withered; the grassy expanse
of the Kirghiz steppes is then transformed into a dusty desert, and the
dry western plains of North America, which have a more luxuriant
but equally sun-dried turf, are subject to prairie-fires. The eastern
prairies of the Mississippi plain, with a more abundant rainfall and
50
60 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
moister soil, produce a rich grass vegetation like that of Middle
Europe, particularly on the benches or terraces which rise from the
banks of the rivers.
The frozen tundra of.the arctic region, when thawed during the
brief spell of summer, exposes a growth of stunted grass mixed with
mosses and lichens. Alpine summits of lower latitudes have a
similar vegetation ; the higher we climb, the more dwarfed and
sparse do the grasses become, until their ascent to the snow-line
is arrested by the denudation of the rocky surface.
In the warmer parts of both temperate zones, particularly on the
borders of the tropics, there is much diversity in the aspect of
gramineous vegetation. Regions of great heat, scanty rainfall,
and dry sandy soil—the immense deserts of S.W. and Central
Asia, the Sahara, the Great Basin of North America ; and in the
southern hemisphere the Kalahari and Great Victoria deserts—are,
in general, characterized by thorny shrubs and a sparse growth
of harsh grasses, 2-3 inches to 1-2 feet high, the leaves short, rigid,
sapless and involute. Transpiration in these desert-grasses is
thus diminished to the lowest degree, to enable them to conserve
their vitality during the prevalence of hot winds and prolonged
drought. In moist localities, by springs, wadies, and in saline
marshes, the grasses rise to several feet ; rarely, however, is there
such a tall dense growth as the belts of Phragmites communis
around the lakes of the Aralo-Caspian basin. Wide stretches of
burning sand, impregnated with salt and utterly desiccated through-
out the year, are destitute of vegetation ; but wherever there is
ground-moisture or a little precipitation at any season, this ensures
a growth of grasses, although perhaps of brief duration, dotted over
the plains in tufts or patches, or forming extensive oases.
In sub-tropical regions of moderate rainfall, followed by a season
of drought, the grasses of dry plains, like those of the southern
portion of the prairie region and of the western plateau of North
America, and the pampa of Argentina, west of long. 63°, grow
mostly in isolated clumps, 4-5 feet high, the foliage rigid and
very scabrid. But elevated plateaux and mountainous districts,
as in South Africa, Mexico, and S.E. Australia, produce a
short, close and soft turf, which during the rainy months re-
sembles the sward of a more equable climate. The grasses of
moist rich plains attain a stature of 6-9 feet, and grow in close
contiguity, forming thickets. A typical example of luxuriant sub-
tropical grasses is Gynerium argenteum, the Silvery Pampas-grass,
which grows in the rich humid soil of the eastern part of the
Parana and La Plata plain. It would be impossible, says the
Naturalist in La Plata, to give anything like an adequate idea of
the exquisite loveliness, at certain times and seasons, of this queen
of grasses, the chief glory of the solitary pampa. One may ride
through many leagues of this grass, which spreads away for miles
on every side, the myriads of white plumes (as high as one’s head),
touched with varied colour, blending in the distance, and appearing
almost like the surface of a cloud.
ASPECTS OF GRASS VEGETATION 61
The mountainous regions of Northern India, although within the
temperate zone, produce a grass vegetation thoroughly inter-
tropical in character, by reason of the torrential rains of the
summer monsoon. Here flourish the noble.bamboos with ligneous
culms, the taller kinds 50, 70, and even go feet high. The aver-
age diameter of a 60 feet culm is 5 inches near the base. ‘These
arborescent grasses, which cover the sides and tops of the moun-
tains throughout the continent of India, form one of the peculiar as
well as most striking features of Oriental scenery. Few objects
present a more attractive sight in the wild forests of this country,
than a clump of these beautiful plants, with their tall bending stems
and delicate light green foliage.” The bamboos are abundant
throughout the whole of S.E. Asia and the Malay Archipelago,
varying much in habit; species with tall columnar culms, and
profusely branched above, are common; others are slender, flexible,
and semi-scandent, while many have a low, shrubby habit of growth.
They frequently form jungles of vast extent, dense and impene-
trable, with a uniform aspect (as there are seldom more than two
ot three species in the same jungle) and a poor undergrowth, in
consequence of deep shade. Most species flower simultaneously
over large tracts of country, at intervals of a great many years ;
they then die off, and their place is taken by seedlings, which grow
with great rapidity. Bambusa arundinacea, the Great Bamboo,
grows for the first 2-3 years as a clump of foliage, making only
rootway ; then it begins to throw up its gigantic culms, 30-100 in
a clump, which may grow 20-30 feet during a month.
In the torrid zone, more particularly within the rainy belt, grasses
give place, for the most part, to dense forests ; but wherever there
is a tract of more open country, the great heat and moisture com-
bine to produce a dense vegetation of tall herbaceous grasses (as
distinguished from the bamboos with ligneous culms), which rise
to 12 or 15, and in some cases to 20 feet, during the rainy season ;
in the dry season they lie down. Grasses of this description are
most abundant on the continent of Africa, in the Senaar, Sene-
gambia, Guinea, and the equatorial lake region. The extremes
of the two tropical seasons are most marked on the llanos of the
Orinoco of South America ; during the rainy season, June-August,
the plain is flooded, and a luxuriant growth of grass ensues ; in the
dry season the soil is baked hard as stone, and the grasses are
utterly parched up. Elevated regions of the torrid zone have a
grass vegetation quite different to that of the low-lying plains.
The high plateaux and mountain-slopes are clothed with a short
green turf resembling that of the cool temperate zones. But on
the Andes, and in other mountainous parts of inter-tropical
America, jungles, forests, or belts of bamboo occur, as in the tropical
countries of the East.
The Panicacee are, generally speaking, tropical or warm temper-
ate in their distribution, while the Poacee predominate almost to
monopoly in the temperate and colder regions of both hemispheres,
and are fairly well represented within the tropics. In reading the
62 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
following notes on the distribution of the more important genera,
the tribes to which the latter belong will be found on reference to
the chapter on Classification.
We will consider the tropical genera first. Panicum is the
largest ; nearly 800 supposed species have been published, but the
number of fairly distinct species is probably not more than 250-
300 ; they abound in all tropical and warm-temperate regions of
the world. Andropogon, Aristida, Eragrostis and Stipa, each
comprise about 100 species, abundant within the tropics; also
found in temperate regions, more particularly of North America.
The genera particularly numerous in America are: Paspalum,
comprising 160 species, tropical or sub-tropical, the greater number
American, not more than five belonging exclusively to the old
world, and only two (introduced) in Southern Europe; Sforodolus,
about 80 species, spread over the warmer and temperate regions
both of the old and new worlds, mostly, however, American, few
European or Asiatic; Muehlenbergia, nearly 60 species, chiefly
American, extending from the Andes of South America over the
northern continent generally, very few in Central or Eastern Asia ;
Olyra, about 20 species, all tropical American with one exception,
which is tropical African ; Bozztelowa, about 25 American species,
northern or southern, but chiefly western. The genera most numer-
ous in Africa are: Lanthonia, nearly 100 species, widely dispersed
over the warmer regions of the world, the greater number, how-
ever, South African ; Pennzse¢zm, about 40 species, chiefly African,
of which two or three are dispersed over the Mediterranean region,
tropical or sub-tropical Asia, or tropical America, a few endemic
in Asia, Australia or tropical America ; Ekrharta, 24 species, of
which 20 are South African, 2 in the Mascarene Islands, and
2 in New Zealand. Chloris, Ischemum, Pappophorum, Chry-
sopogon and Arundinella each comprise 20-40 species, dispersed
over the warmer regions of both eastern and western hemispheres ;
Pollinta comprises 25 tropical old-world species, with a few in
extra-tropical Eastern Asia ; Erachne, 22 species, of which 20 are
Australian (one of them occurring also in tropical Asia), the remain-
ing two endemic in tropical Asia.
The large genera of temperate regions are : Deyeuxia, nearly 120
species, dispersed over the temperate or mountain regions of the
globe, particularly numerous in the Andes of South America,
extending northward to the Arctic circle and southward to the
Patagonian peninsula; Festuca, about 80 well-defined species
(some botanists have made over 230), almost universally distri-
buted, but most abundant in the northern temperate regions of
the old world, with not many American or tropical species; Poa
is another cosmopolitan genus of about 80 species (they have been
estimated by some authors at over 200), particularly abundant in
the northern hemisphere and sparingly represented within the
tropics ; Agrostz7s, 100 species, very widely dispersed, especially
common in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere,
some almost cosmopolitan. Spread over the temperate or colder
LEADING GENERA 63
regions, northern or southern, both of the old and new worlds, are:
Trisetum, 50 species ; Glyceria, 30 species ; Agropyrum, 20 species;
Triodia, 20 species (very few extending into the tropics in America
or Africa) ; Deschampsta, 20 species (also sparingly represented in
mountain regions within the tropics) ; Avena, 40 species, mostly
in the temperate regions of the old world, with a few in extra-
tropical North and South America, one or two of the annuals
widely dispersed as cornfield weeds. Distributed over the tem-
perate regions of the northern hemisphere are : Bromus, 40 species,
with a very few tropical or southern ; and JZe/zca, 30 species, some
extending down the Andes into extra-tropical South America and
some occurring in South Africa.
The 32 genera above mentioned comprise about 2,000 species,
nearly two-thirds of the total number; the remaining 1,200 are
grouped into about 266 genera, many of which are monotypic, ze.
having but one species. 100 genera are common to both the old
and new worlds, and upwards of 50 are common to the extra-tropical
regions of both the northern and southern hemispheres. More
than 50 genera are endemic in America ; of these, 20 belong to the
Mexicano-Texan region, a few of them extending into California
and several down the Andes of South America as far as Bolivia ;
other 20 are tropical or sub-tropical, including a few Brazilian
monotypic ‘ones, while about ten genera are restricted to North
America. Gray’s Manual of the Northern United States describes
66 genera, of which no less than 35 are also British. For Europe,
Nyman’s Conspectus enumerates 116 genera, which include the
48 British. Less than 20 genera are endemic in Europe, and
about a dozen (nearly all monotypic) are confined to the Medi-
terranean region. Many of the European genera range over the
whole world, but are of course most abundant in the northern
hemisphere. Harvey’s South African genera are 89, of which 26
are represented also in Britain. Of the 90 Australian genera, 54
are found in both the old and new worlds, half of them being chietly
tropical ; 18 other genera belong to the Indo-Australian region
(ranging from Australia over the Malay Archipelago into South-
Eastern Asia); 3 genera are common to Australia and New
Zealand, and 1 occurs also in South Africa ; only 14 genera are
endemic in Australia, noted for its peculiar fauna and flora—a
remarkable illustration of the wide diffusion of this family. Out
of 30 genera indigenous to New Zealand, no less than 17 are found
also in Britain.
The distribution of the Bambusee is peculiar; this tribe com-
prises 22 genera, of which 16 occur in India, China, Japan, the
Malay Archipelago, Polynesia, Africa, Madagascar, and include
the 8 genera of berry-bearing bamboos (with a thick fleshy peri-
carp) confined to the East. 6 genera, comprising 70 species,
are confined to tropical America. Only 2 genera are common to
both eastern and western hemispheres. The large genera are
Bambusa, 24 species, confined to Africa and the East with the
sole exception of B. vulgaris; Arundinaria, about 24 species,
64 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
found in both hemispheres, and Chusguea, upwards of 30 species,
all restricted to America, and ascending on the Andes as high as
Arundinaria does on the Himalayas. In the whole extent of
North America north of Mexico there is only one species of uncul-
tivated bamboo, Arundinaria macrosperma; in Europe there is
not one native species, while on the continent of Africa there are
only one or two native flowering species known.
Confining our attention now to the distribution of British grasses,
many species occur in the southern and south-eastern parts of
England that have not been observed further north. Most of
these, as Polyfogon monspeliensis and P. littoralis, Agrostis setacea,
Phleum phalaroides, Gastridium lendigerum, Corynephorus can-
escens, Cynodon dactylon,* Bromus madritensts, *Festuca uniglumis
and */. myurus,*Briza minor, Poa bulbosaand Brachypodium pin-
natunt, are common all round the Mediterranean, extend up the
west coast of Europe to the English Channel, some reaching
Scandinavia. Those marked * occur locally or sparingly in
Ireland. Lagurus ovatus, Cynosurus echinatus, and Bromus maxt-
mus do not get further than the Channel Islands, except as intro-
duced casuals, and are not indigenous to Britain proper. The
last-named is naturalized on the Tyne ballast-hills, its northern-
most station. Cynodon dactylon is common in all warm regions,
and in India is one of the most valuable pasture grasses. A few
species occur in the Scotch Highlands that are not found else-
where in Britain, viz. Alopecurus alpinus, Phleum alpinum, Poa
laxa, P. stricta, and Deschampsia alpina; not by reason of the
somewhat higher latitude, but because of the elevation of the
mountains there, as these species occur in more southerly latitudes
on the continent of Europe, on the Alps and Pyrenees. The grasses
found at the highest elevations in North Britain are : above 4,000 ft.,
Deschampsia alpina and Festuca ovina, the latter occupying the
highest summits in abundance ; from 3,000 to 4,000 ft., Deschampsia
flexuosa, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Nardus stricta, Poa alpina;
also Poa annua about the springs and rills ; from 2,000 to 3,000 ft.,
Alopecurus alpinus, Avena pratensis, Festuca duriuscula, Phleum
alpinum, Sesleria caerulea. Huierochloe borealis, whose only
British locality is the extreme north of Scotland, is abundant in
Iceland, Northern and Arctic Europe, Siberia and Arctic America.
One species is confined to the eastern side of Britain, namely
Ammophita baltica, on the coast of Northumberland, while another
species, JZzbora verna, occurs only on the Isle of Anglesea. The
former extends all round the shores of the Baltic from Gothland to
Holland, the latter is found throughout Western Europe, including
the Channel Islands, and in North Africa. MMelica nutans, distri-
buted over Arctic Europe and Northern Asia, is restricted in Britain
to the western counties, but is not recorded from Ireland. Several
species are dependent upon the cultivation of the soil for their
occurrence and perpetuation in our country; they are usually in-
troduced with grass and clover seeds. Such are Panicum Crus-
galli, P. glabrum (Digitaria humifusa), P. sanguinale, Setaria
BRITISH SPECIES 65
viridis S. veyticillata, Avena fatua, A. strigosa, Apera Spica-venti,
Anthoxanthum Puelli, Briza minor. These agrarian species are
rarely persistent in any locality, and most of them occur as British
only in the south of England ; some have a world-wide distribution,
tracking the tiller of the soil into every new region where he locates
himself. Phalarts canariensis is spread all over Britain as a
casual, through the universal use of its grains for feeding cage-
birds. An extensive coastline gives us a large proportion of
littoral species, about one-sixth of the total number.
We have no well-marked species that is not found also on the
continent of Europe, although varieties peculiar to Britain have
been raised to specific rank by some botanists. Deyeuxta neglecta,
var. Hookert, on the shores of Lough Neagh, Ireland, is not known
to occur anywhere else. There are also some mountain varieties
of Poa nemoralis, in the Scotch Highlands, which do not precisely
correspond to continental forms—doubtless the result of insulation.
According to Vyman’s Conspectus, the European species of grasses
number 570; those of the British Islands number about 120, in-
clusive of sub-species, but exclusive of many varieties some of
which are regarded as species by continental botanists.
Several of our grasses range northward beyond the Arctic Circle.
Recorded from Greenland are —*Phalaris arundinacea, Anthoxan-
thum odoratum, Hierochloe borealis, *Alopecurus alpinus, *A.
geniculatus, Phleum alpinum, *Agrostis vulgaris, A. canina, Cala-
magrostis lanceolata, *Deschampsia cespitosa, D. flexuosa, *Cata-
brosa aquatica, *Poa alpina,* P. pratensis, *P.nemoralts, P. annua,
P. cesia, *Glyceria fluitans, *Festuca ovina, F. rubra,*Agropyrum
repens, Nardus stricta, *Elymus arenarius. Those marked *
occur also in East Arctic America. Agrostis vulgaris, Anthoxan-
thum odoratum, Catabrosa aquatica and Nardus stricta are found
only south of the Arctic Circle.
More than half our grasses have a wide range eastwards, being
abundant all over Europe, dispersed through Siberia, except the
extreme north and east, and more than twenty are found on the
high plateaux of Central Asia and on the Himalaya and other
mountains. The latter are A/opecurus pratensis, A. geniculatus,
Phleum alpinum, Agrostis canina, A. vulgaris, Polypogon mons-
peliensts, Calamagrostis epigeios, Trisetum flavescens, Avena fatua,
A. strigosa, Phragmites communis, Poa nemoralis, P. alpina,
Glyceria aquatica, G. fluitans, G. distans, G. procumbens, Festuca
elatior, F. ovina, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Lolium temulentum,
Agropyrum repens, A. caninum, Hordeum pratense.
Comparing our grass flora with that of the Northern United
States (north of North Carolina and Tennessee, and east of the
Mississippi), we find that no less than 32 species are indigenous
to both countries, beside which 28 other British species have been
introduced ;from Europe, most of them now naturalized. Alto-.
gether, out of 114 species described in Gray’s Manual, 60 are also
British. Chapman’s Flora of the Southern States gives a very
different result, for the number of indigenous species occurring
H. G. F
66 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
also in Britain falls to 12, but he introduced species number 21.
The grass flora of the Azores is almost identical with that of
S.W. Europe, the African element being very slight. Godman’s
Natural History enumerates 51 species of grasses, 30 of these are
British and the remainder are nearly all from Southern Europe ;
only four species are peculiar to the Azores.
On the Andes of South America, our grass flora is represented
generically by Deyeuxta, Deschampsia, Trisetum, Triodia, Melica,
Poa, Festuca, Panicum, Bromus. Some of our species, even, have
reached the southern extremity of the continent, eg. Phleum
alpinum, Deschampsiu flexuosa, Agropyrum repens. The affinity
of the South African grass-flora with that of Europe is also generic,
not specific. A few British species are recorded, viz. Calama-
grostis epigeios, Aira caryophyllea, Phragmites communis, Keleria
cristata, Poa annua, Lolium temulentum, Avena fatua, also Hor-
deum murinum about seaport towns ; most of these, however, have
been introduced.
Some of our grasses are indigenous to the mountainous regions
of Australasia. In New Zealand, for example, Alopecurus genicu-
latus, Hierochloe borealis, Agrostis canina, Deschampsia cespitosa,
Keleria cristata, and Festuca duriuscula are native, the last-named
one abundant in the mountain pastures. Many British species
have been introduced and become naturalized. The indigenous
grasses of New Zealand number only 75 species.
The geographical distribution of the cereal grasses, z.e. those
which are cultivated for the sake of the grain, is intimately associ-
ated with the history and civilization of mankind. Most of the
cereals have been cultivated in the old world in times pre-historic,
and their original habitat, or home, is largely conjectural. The
cereals cultivated in greatest antiquity were wheat, spelt, barley
and rice.
Small grains and ears of wheat have been found in very ancient
Egyptian monuments, dating back to B.c. 2500-3000, Another
variety of wheat with small grains was cultivated in Switzerland
in the earliest stone age, abundant evidence of which is found in
the remains of the lake dwellings. The cultivation of wheat is also
very ancient in China, where an annual ceremony was instituted,
B.C. 2700, of sowing five kinds of seed, wheat being one. It is
probable that this grain was cultivated in Western Asia 2000-3000
years before that epoch, and that the Euphrates valley was then
its principal habitat. The 200-300 varieties of wheat are referable
to four races: Triticum vulgare, T. turgidum, T. durum, and T.
polonicum, all of which are probably derived from a single species.
Spelt, as distinguished from the true wheats, has the ripe grain
enclosed in the husk. Its numerous forms may be grouped under
three names: Zvzticuin spella, T. dicoccum (with two grains in
each little ear) and 7. monococcum with a I-grained ear. TZ. mono-
coccum cannot be crossed with any other form of wheat or spelt,
CEREALS OF ANTIQUITY 67
being quite exceptional in this respect, although probably it was
derived from a small-grained wheat in very remote times, and
gave rise to the other forms of spelt. Spelt was most anciently
cultivated in Eastern temperate Europe and the neighbouring
countries of Asia.
Of barley, there are three principal forms or species: Hordeum
atstichon (two-rowed), A. vulgare (one-rowed) and A. hexastichon
with six rows of grains in the ear. The last-named was the kind
most commonly cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, and by the
lake-dwellers of the stone age in Switzerland and of the age of
bronze in Italy and Savoy. The only form now found wild is A.
distichon, the least productive ; it was cultivated by the Swiss lake-
dwellers. A. vulgare seems to have been less cultivated in anti-
quity than either of the other species. A. distichon was probably
the ancestral form, anterior to the time when the monuments were
built by the ancient Egyptians.
Rice, Oryza sativa, was one of the cereals anciently cultivated in
Southern Asia. In the Chinese ceremony already mentioned, great
importance was attached to the sowing of this grain. Its cultiva-
tion in India dates at least from the Aryan invasion ; spreading
westward, it was cultivated in the Euphrates valley 400 years B.C.,
and reached Egypt in the early centuries of the Christian era. It
was introduced into Spain by the Arabs, first cultivated in Italy in
1468, and twenty-five years later carried by Columbus to America.
Rice probably existed before all cultivation in Southern Asia; there
are now more than 100 varieties.
Maize, Zea Mais, was unknown to the people of the old world
until the discovery of America. It was then in cultivation over a
very large part of that continent, and was the only cereal. The
discovery of ears and grains of maize in the burial-mounds of
North America (of the race preceding the present native race), and
in the tombs of the Incas of Peru, is evidence that this grain was
extensively cultivated in America in the early part of the Christian
era; and from the numerous varieties of maize found in these
monuments, it is inferred that it was in cultivation for a long period
previous. Maize does not appear to occur anywhere in a wild
state. Columbus brought it to Europe; it then spread rapidly
eastward, and within half a century was diffused throughout South-
east Asia and the East Indian Archipelago.
The cultivation of oats and rye is not so ancient as that of the
other cereals, perhaps not earlier than the Christian era. The
numerous varieties of the oat may be grouped under two species:
A. sativa and A. ortentalis. It is doubtful whether oats and rye
(Secale cereale) occur really wild, though half-wild and naturalized
forms are frequent in Eastern temperate Europe and Asia Minor—
probably the original habitat.
Some of the millets (grasses with small grains) were cultivated
in very ancient times. Sefarza ztalica is one of the five plants
whose seeds are sown in the observance of the Chinese ceremony,
and its cultivation was very common in the temperate parts of the
68 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
old world in pre-historic time. It has been found among the re-
mains of the lake-dwellings of the stone period, probably arriving
there through Russia and Austria from China and Japan. The
specific name is inappropriate. Sorghum vulgare, dourra or
Kaffir-corn, and Sorghum saccharatum, Sweet-sorghum, are (with
maize) exceptional among the cultivated grains in having been
dispersed eastward ; they are largely cultivated in tropical Africa
and are probably native there, having spread from Egypt into
Arabia, India, and China. Panicum miliaceum was cultivated in
pre-historic time in Southern Europe, Egypt, and Asia; it grows
wild south of the Caucasus. Edeustne coracana is largely cultivated
in Southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago, where it is probably
native,
For further information on this subject, refer to A. de Candolle’s
Origin of Cultivated Plants.
The geographical distribution of the cereals at the present day
falls broadly into three zones or mighty girdles around the earth—
a tropical, a north temperate and a south temperate. They are by
no means sharply defined from each other, especially in the northern
hemisphere, where a commixture of the tropical and north temper-
ate zones extends over several degrees of latitude.
The broadest zone is that of the tropical grains—maize, rice and
millets. Maize is distributed over 90° of latitude—45° on each side
of the equator, including all the United States, Central America,
and South America except the extreme southern part of the
peninsula, the whole of the continent of Africa, the southern por-
tion of Eurasia, all Malaysia, and Oceania. The rice belt is not so
broad, as although in Europe its northern climatal limit coincides
almost with that of maize, it is 10° nearer the equator on the
continents of North America and Asia, and its southern boundary
is similarly curtailed. Millets, most generally cultivated in Africa
and Asia, have as wide a range of temperature as maize.
The northern zone of temperate grains—wheat, barley, oats
and rye—has a breadth of go” of latitude in the old world, but
scarcely 30° on the American continent, because the extreme
continental character of the climate prevents cultivation far north-
ward. The polar limit is erratic. On the humid Pacific slope of
North America it is probably near the 55th parallel, somewhat
higher on the eastern side of the Rockies (which deprive the S.W.
winds of their excessive moisture), falling gradually to 50° as we
cross the continent to the Atlantic. In Western Europe it recedes
to the 7oth parallel (the effect of the warm Gulf-Stream), but
excludes Iceland; in Western Siberia it approaches 60°, and in
Eastern Asia falls to about 50°. The equatorial limit of the north-
ern zone varies with the elevation of the earth’s surface ; in India it
passes to the south of the Tropic of Cancer onthe Deccan plateau ;
on the plains of the Western Continent it is a few degrees north of
that line.
CHRLAL CULLVALLUN aND CROPS 69
All the temperate grains can be grown within the tropics, at an
altitude of 6-12,000 feet. In Abyssinia, for example, oats and barley
grow up to 12,000 feet ; maize to 9,000 feet. In Mexico, wheat and
barley are grown on the temperate tablelands (éerras templadas)
and in the cold mountain regions, in the latter at a height of 8,000
feet above the sea; maize is grown everywhere at the lower
elevations. On the Andes of Chile and Bolivia, both temperate
and tropical grains are grown in vertical zones, barley at the high-
est altitude, maize and rice at the lowest, wheat between. At
10,000 feet the climate is as well adapted for the growth of the tem-
perate grains as it is “ perfect for the European constitution.”
The southern zone of temperate grains has for its boundaries the
tropic of Capricorn and the 4oth parallel.
We will now consider the distribution and cultivation of the
cereals on each continent, taking Europe first. Barley, oats and rye
are associated with pines and firs, and these grains reach their most
northerly limit of culture in Scandinavia (by reason of the modify-
ing influence which the Gulf Stream exerts upon the climate there),
barley growing as far northas the 7oth parallel, where uninterrupted
sunshine ripens it in 90 days; oats to 68°, wheat to 63°. In Eastern
Russia, where the climate is strictly continental (away from sea
influences), the northern limit of these cereals is several degrees
lower. Oats and rye are the grains most generally cultivated
around the lower Baltic and in the northern part of the great
central plain (in Germany and Russia), often in association with
barley, sometimes with wheat. Wheat is associated with deciduous
trees, and predominates all over Middle Europe—the northern half
of France, S.W. Germany, the plains of Lombardy and Hungary,
and in the ‘black earth’ region of Russia between the Carpathians
and the Ourals. Barley, oats and rye here accompany wheat in
varying proportions. The growth of grain on the Alps ceases at
an altitude of about 4,000 feet, but on some of the southern slopes
rye ascends 1,500 feet higher. Maize, associated with the vine and
olive, comes into cultivation south of the 48th parallel, at first
sparingly, then generally ; wheat is grown everywhere in company
with maize ; on the other hand, rye, oats, and barley become minor
crops the more as we go southward. Lastly, rice appears in the
evergreen zone of Southern Europe, where there is sufficient
irrigation, viz. the south of Portugal, the low-lying parts of Spain
on the Mediterranean, and the valleys of the Po and Lower Danube.
Rice is associated with such fruits as figs, oranges, grapes, olives,
and almonds, whose thriving depends upon the mildness of winter
and the high summer temperature enjoyed by this part of Europe,
owing to its situation on the shores of a great inland sea and to the
protection from cold N. and E. winds afforded by the Pyrenees,
Alps, Carpathians, and Balkans. The chief cereals of Europe are
wheat and rye ; oats and barley come next ; maize, rice, spelt and
millets last. The countries having the largest acreage under a
given cereal assume the following order: wheat, Russia, France,
Italy, Hungary ; oats, Russia, Germany, France; barley and rye,
7O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
Russia and Germany. France stands first among the wheat-
producing countries of Europe, as, although this country has not
nearly so large an acreage under wheat as Russia, the average yield
is 17 bushels per acre. The wheat crop of France is 300,000,000
bushels ; of Russia, 250,000,000 ; of Hungary, Italy and Germany,
each from 120,000,000 to 150,000,000 bushels ; Spain, 80,000,000,
The wheat crop of Europe is close upon 1,400,000,000 bushels.
In the British Isles, wheat does not ripen at a greater elevation
than 1,000 feet, while barley and oats are precarious crops at an
altitude of 1,500 feet. A large part of the British Isles (all Scot-
land except the Lowlands, Ireland, Wales, and the West of England)
is not so well adapted for the cultivation of wheat as of oats and
barley, owing to excessive moisture brought by the prevailing
Atlantic winds, and to the elevation of the surface. Oats and
barley therefore predominate. In England, wheat, barley and oats
are cultivated in nearly equal proportions, the acreage under each
of these cereals being from 13 to 2 million acres; only 80,000 acres
are devotedto rye. The acreage under oats in Scotland (1,000,000)
is five times more than that under barley. Ireland has 1} million
acres devoted to oats, while the proportion under barley is only one-
eighth. In both Scotland and Ireland, the acreage under oats is 25
times more than that under wheat ; rye everywhere asmall crop. In
Wales the cultivation of oats ({ million acres) is rather more than
twice as large as that of barley, and five times greater than that of
wheat. The wheat crop of the United Kingdom is about 60,000,000
bushels, the average yield per acre being about 30 bushels (highest
in Scotland, 37 bushels), Oat-crop 180,000,000 bushels, average
yield 40; barley 80,000,000 bushels, yield 34 bushels. A bushel
of wheat = 60 lbs., of barley 50 lbs., of oats 39 lbs.
In Asia, the distribution of the cereals falls into zones of elevation
rather than zones of latitude, except in the north, because the
greater part of this continent, lying within the temperate zone,
presents as its main physical features deserts of sand impregnated
with salt, or extensive and lofty mountain ranges, and is therefore
unfit for cultivation. The northern limit of grains in Siberia is the
6oth parallel ; rye and oats chiefly in the northern part, together
with barley ; wheat in the fertile plains of the south-west, mostly in
the upper basins of the Obi and Yenisei, to the foot of the Altai
range. Crops ripen with great rapidity in the higher latitudes,
where in summer the sun is above the horizon for twenty hours
each day; east of the Yenisei there is hardly any cultivation.
The great desert belt (a continuation of the Sahara) stretches
almost uninterruptedly from the Red Sea to the Pacific, through
Arabia, Persia, Afghanistan, Russian Central Asia, and the great
Gobi to Manchuria ; the eastern half of it is almost totally destitute
of cultivation : on the Iranian plateau wheat and barley are grown
in the elevated parts ; rice in the marshy lowlands, fertile valleys,
and riverine tracts where irrigation can be practised, often in
association with wheat, and sometimes with maize. The Persian
wheat crop is about 20,000,000 bushels. In Asia Minor and Arabia
CEREAL CULTIVATION AND CROPS 73
wheat, barley, and millets are grown mostly in the coastal regions.
The wheat crop of Asiatic Turkey is about.45,000,000 bushels. In
Caucasia wheat ascends to 6,500 feet, barley 1,500 feet higher; the
lowlands on both sides of this range produce rice, maize, and wheat.
In striking contrast to the great sterile belt is the extreme fertility
of S.E. Asia, the monsoon region with periodic and abundant rains.
In India, barley is largely grown in the Punjab and the north-west,
while the cultivation of wheat “extends through every district of
the North-West Provinces, Oudh, the Punjab, Sind, the Central
Provinces, and Berar; also through every part of the Bombay
Presidency, with the exception of some of the coast districts ; it is
also grown in many parts of the interior of the Madras Presidency.”
There are about 25,000,000 acres under wheat in India, and the
yearly crop is 250,000,000 bushels, On the Himalayan slopes, the
distribution in vertical zones is somewhat as follows: rice, up to
5,000-6,000 feet ; wheat (often associated with maize and barley), up
to 9,000-10,000 feet ; barley ascending to 12,000 feet. The acreage
under maize is only about one-twelfth that of wheat. Oats are little
cultivated, and chiefly for the horses of Europeans. Rice is ex-
tensively cultivated throughout the continent, and is the staple
crop in the Ganges delta, where two harvests are general, with an
occasional third, but smaller one; the average yield per acre is
Jo-12 maunds (1 maund=8z2 lbs.). Most varieties of rice are
semi-aquatic, but there are some which grow on the hillsides,
ascending to 8,000 feet. Taking India asa whole, however, neither
rice nor wheat is the predominant grain, but millets, of which
there are a great many kinds, e.g. Sorghum vulgare, Pennisetum
typhoideum, Eleusine coracana, Setaria ttalica, Panicum miliaceum,
P. miliare, P. frumentaceum and P.colonum, Paspalum scrobicula-
zum, and Coix lachryma. The great plain of China, embracing the
basins of the Hoang-Ho and Yang-tse-Kiang, is one of the vastest
and richest lowland plains in the world, with a deep loess of inex-
haustible fertility. Inthe northern part of this plain, wheat and
millets predominate, associated in smaller proportion with barley
and maize ; in the central and southern parts, rice, often associated
with wheat. Wheat- and paddy-fields often adjoin each other.
The rice-growing tracts support the densest population in the
world. Japan, with a climate greatly modified, like that of the
British Isles, by a warm ocean current from the south, and with an
abundant rainfall during the monsoon, produces rice and wheat as
staples, the wheat-crop being 15,000,000 bushels. Millets, barley, and
maize are minor crops. Throughout the Indo-Chinese peninsula,
rice everywhere predominates, in the low, marshy, steaming plains,
and in the valleys and deltas of the great rivers, the quantity pro-
duced defying computation. Rice is also the staple cereal through-
out Malaysia, sometimes associated with maize.
The continent of Africa, like that of Asia, has an immense
desert belt, the Sahara, where cultivation is impracticable ; but in
remarkable contrast is the extremely fertile delta of the Nile, with
a deep alluvial soil annually inundated, and producing luxuriant
72 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
crops of rice, wheat, barley, maize, and dourra; the Nile wheat
crop is 10,000,000 bushels. In the Barbary States, maize and wheat
predominate, associated with millets, barley, and rice, in the low-
lying Tell country, and on the northern slopes of the Atlas high-
lands ; but there is very little cultivation in Tripoli. The Algerian
wheat crop is 25,000,000 bushels. Taking Africa as a whole, the
chief cereals are maize and millets, the latter mostly Sorghum
vulgare (dourra or Kaffir-corn) ; rice is sparingly dispersed through-
out nearly the whole continent, but is cultivated most largely in the
Nile delta and low-lying coastal region of Senegambia and Guinea.
The Soudan is a fertile belt producing maize, dourra, and rice.
For Abyssinia, we have already mentioned the vertical zones of
cereal cultivation ; maize and millets are the staples of this fertile
country. In South Africa, wheat, barley, and oats, are grown most
generally south of the 30th parallel; maize (mealies) is every-
where the prevailing grain, yielding abundant crops. The
temperate grains are now being grown on the Mashonaland
plateau, lat. 18° S., which has an elevation of 4,500-6,000 feet above
the sea, the mean annual temperature being 53° F., and the yearly
rainfall thirty-four inches.
On the American continent, oats predominate in the eastern
part of British North America, associated with barley and wheat ;
the yield averaging for oats and barley about 30 bushels, for
wheat 17. Rye is very little cultivated. In the western part
of the Dominion, which has a hotter climate, wheat predomi-
nates. Manitoba, with its famous wheat district of the Red River
Valley, has 1,000,000 acres under wheat, 400,000 under oats, and
about 100,000 under barley, the average yield being as above
stated ; rye a very small crop. The Canadian wheat crop is about
45,000,000 bushels.
In the United States, rye and barley, except in the Pacific States,
are not much cultivated, but about 30,000,000 acres are devoted to
oats. The United States wheat crop 1s 4-500,000,000 bushels, the
average yield being 12. Maize is everywhere associated with
wheat, from the Ottawa basin and the Upper St. Lawrence valley
to the Mexican Gulf, maize always taking a long lead. The maize
crop of Iowa, for example, is 350,000,000 bushels; oats, 120,000,000;
wheat, 35,000,000. In Texas, the maize crop is 75,000,000 bushels ;
oats, 15,c00,000; wheat, 8,000,000. Maize is by far the largest cereal
crop in the United States—about 2,000,000,000 bushels of 60 lbs,
West of the rooth meridian to the Pacific States (but excluding
these and Utah) there is hardly any cultivation, owing to barren-
ness of the soil and lack of irrigation. In the Pacific States, which
receive an abundant rainfall from the moisture-laden S.W. winds,
wheat, oats, and barley are very extensively cultivated, wheat pre-
dominating especially in California (in the Great Valley between
the Sierra Nevada and the coast range). The Californian wheat
crop iS 33,000,000 bushels; barley 16,000,000 ; maize, oats, and
rye are much smaller crops. The rice-growing states are the
Carolinas, Georgia, and Louisiana, the last-named producing by
CEREAL CULTIVATION AND CROPS 73
far the most rice. In Mexico, Central America, the West Indies,
and tropical South America, maize is the staple and in many
districts the only cereal cultivated. In mountainous parts, how-
ever, the more temperate climate enables wheat and barley to be.
grown. In low-lying, well-watered localities, rice is cultivated,
though not extensively. Paraguay has over 8,000,000 acres under
maize, and 400,000 under rice. Uruguay produces about 5,000,000
bushels of wheat. Chile enjoys a cooler climate than the other South
American States, by reason of its elevation and the influence of the
cold Antarctic Drift current ; the cultivated region is a long upland
valley between two snow- clad cordilleras of the Andes, wheat
predominating especially in the southern part, associated largely
with barley. The wheat crop of Chile is 16,000,000 bushels.
“The region of cereals of the Argentine Republic may roughly
be described as extending from latitude 30° to 41° south, and is
bounded westwards by longitude 65°, and eastwards by the River
Uruguay and Atlantic coast; or, in other words, this region in-
cludes roughly the three provinces of Santa Fé, Entre Rios, and
Buenos Ayres, and the eastern portion of that of Cordova. In the
greater part of this immense plain wheat will grow satisfactorily
without artificial irrigation. But south of latitude 41° and west of
longitude 65° rain does not come regularly enough.” With irriga-
tion, wheat and other crops could be grown even much further south,
as is shown by the satisfactory crops of the Welsh Chubut colony,
in latitude 43° south. The possible area of cereal cultivation
in Argentina, without irrigation, is estimated to be upwards of
200,000,000 acres, of which not more than 5 per cent. is as yet
touched, but a large proportion is only suitable for maize. The
chief cereal in the province of Buenos Ayres is maize, its crop
being more than half the total quantity produced in the Republic ;
wheat is the predominant grain in Santa Fé, this province pro-
ducing more than half the wheat crop of Argentina. Barley and
rye are minor crops. Rice is grown in the northern parts of the
Republic bordering on the tropics. The wheat export of Argentina
in 1892 was 17,000,000 bushels; in 1893, 37,000,000; in 1894,
60,000,000 ; local consumption, 20,000,000.
On the continent of Australia cereal cultivation is almost con-
fined to the coastal regions and the fertile plain of the river Murray.
The mountain range in the east cuts off the rainfall brought by
the prevailing S.E. winds, so that the interior consists mostly
of sandy saline deserts. Maize is extensively cultivated on the
north coast (chiefly around the Gulf of Carpentaria) and on
the east coast, associated in some parts with rice; in tropical
Queensland, maize, various millets, and a little rice ; wheat only in
the southern half of the colony, with maize and a small proportion
of barley and oats ; but wheat is a very precarious crop, the yield
per acre in some years of drought being as low as 3 bushels, in
others, 20. Maize thrives best, giving a heavy yield; in the
northern part, two crops a year. In New South Wales wheat pre-
dominates, the acreage under this cereal being twice as large’ as
74 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
that under maize ; but the yield per acre of maize is as large again
as that of wheat. In Victoria and South Australia also, wheat is
the leading crop, oats and barley coming next at a great distance ;
maize, sorghum and rye very small crops. The yield per acre of
wheat in Victoria is 14 bushels, in South Australia only 7-8
bushels. In Western Australia (south of the 29th parallel) wheat
predominates, barley, oats, and maize coming a long way behind ;
average yield of wheat, 11 bushels. In Tasmania wheat is the
leading crop, then oats; barley insignificant ; the average yield
per acre is variable, but normally nearly as high as in New
Zealand. In the latter colony the proportions (but not the acre-
age) of land under these three cereals were until recently about
the same as in Tasmania, oats following close upon wheat ; but
now there is more land under oats than under wheat ; the yield
per acre is, wheat, 20 bushels, oats, 30, barley, 25; rye is cultivated
in some parts. The cultivation of maize in New Zealand is con-
fined to the North Island, the mean annual temperature of which
is 57° F.; wheat, oats, and barley are grown principally in the
South Island, which has a mean annual temperature of 52°—only 1°
above that of London and New York. The long periods of
drought, to which the Australian colonies are subject, are unknown
in Tasmania and New Zealand. It will be noticed that the oat
is as important a cereal in these two colonies as in the cold tem-
perate regions of the northern hemisphere. The Australasian
wheat crop is about 40,000,000 bushels.
The world’s wheat crop is estimated to be 2,400,000,000 bushels.
CHAPTER V
Uses.
For manifold uses, and for the universality and supreme import-
ance of some of these uses, more especially in relation to the food
of man and beast, the Gramznee are pre-eminent among all the
families of plants. Claiming our consideration first is the use of
grains for human food.
That grains were an important article of food in prehistoric
times we have seen by the antiquity of their cultivation: at the
present day, they are the food-staple of more than four-fifths of the
human race. No doubt grains were used as food long before
cultivation ; they are still gathered in some countries from various
species of wild grasses. The most primitive method of preparing
grains for food appears to have been roasting or parching them,
either whole or partially bruised, in glowing ashes or hot sand, or
upon hot stones. At a later period, boiling the grains became the
universal mode of preparation. From biblical writings (Gen. xviii.,
xix.), we learn that
leavened and un-
leavened bread was
made in very early
patriarchal times ;
the ancient Egyp-
tians baked-loaves
and cakes, and
taught the art to
the Greeks.
We may consider
a grain of wheat,
in its structure and
composition, as
typical of all the
other grains. Ina
transverse section,
highly magnified
(fig. 40), we see that
the interior portion a é: Pate nee ee are :
Cotisists’ of Lange, Miciast ram ata aete wheacgis ae? 2
oblong or rectan- aleurone grains in one layer of squarish cells, and az starch
gular cells filled grains in large rectangular cells ; # nucleus.
with numerous
granules, some large, others small, with few of intermediate size;
75
76 USES
these are starch granules. Outside the mass of large cells is a single
layer of squarish cells, containing minute granules of uniform size,
known as aleurone grains. Isolated cells of aleurone grains some-
times occur in the central mass of the grain. Investing the row of
squarish cells are several very thin fibrous layers which constitute
the testa and pericarp, or, in popular language, the skin of the grain.
The starch granules, it is hardly necessary to remark, belong to
the group of carbohydrate nutrients (heat and force producers) ;
the aleurone grains are highly complex bodies belonging to the
group known as proteids or albuminoids (flesh formers), the essen-
tial characteristic of which is, that nitrogen enters into their com-
position. The fibrous layers consist largely of cellulose, indigestible
by man, but contain a considerable quantity of oil and mineral
matter, the latter chiefly potash and phosphoric acid. The embryo
(fig. 1) is rich in all the nutrients. The composition of an average
sample of wheat grains is, in 100 parts : water, 14 ; albuminoids, 12 ;
starch (including about 4 per cent. of dextrine and sugar), 68 ; fat or
oil, 1°7 ; salts, 1°6; cellulose, 2°7. The sum-total of the nutrients, or
nutrient value, is 84 (the oil being expressed in its starch equivalent,
I part oil=2} parts starch). The most important consideration in
these percentages is the proportion of albuminoids to carbohy-
drates and fat ; in the above analysis this proportion, or nutrient
ratio as it is often termed, is 1:63; in other words, to one part of
flesh formers, there are six parts, by weight, of heat or force pro-
ducers ; the nutrient ratio of a standard dietary is 1:44. The
principal variation in the composition of different kinds of wheat
is in the proportion of albuminoids to starch, the former oscillating
between Io and 16 per cent., or even higher in the horny translucent
wheats of warm dry climates.
The large amount of starch in the cereal grains gives them a
high dynamic value as a food substance. 1 Ib. of the crumb of
bread, if digested and oxidized in the human body, is capable of
producing an amount of force equal to 1333 tons raised one foot
high ; the dynamic value of wheaten flour, according to Frankland,
is 2383 foot-tons; the great difference between these figures is of
course owing to the large percentage of water in bread. It is
instructive here to compare the dynamic value of some other
well-known foods, z.e. the amount of energy that 1 lb. will yield:
that of pea meal is 2341 foot-tons ; fish (mackerel), 1000; potatoes,
618; milk, 390; egg (hard-boiled), 1415; lean of beef, 885; beef-fat,
5640; butter, 4507 ; the high dynamic value of the last two articles of
food being due to the superior heat- or force-producing power of
fat, as compared to starch. But when we take into account the
cost of these various articles of food, we find that for a given ex-
penditure of money a larger amount of force or energy can be
obtained from the cereal grains than from any other kind of food.
For example, to raise 140 lbs. to the height of 10,000 ft., 1 lb. of pea
meal would be required, costing 4d.; or of butter, } lb.=7d.; or
potatoes, 5 lbs.= 3d. ; or mackerel, 3 lbs.=15. 7d¢.; or milk, 64 pints
=I5s. 1d; or beef-fat, 4 lb.=4$d.; or lean of beef, 33 lbs. =35. ; or I
BREADSTUFFS 77
lb. of wheaten flour, costing only 1d. The amount of external
work that 1 lb. of bread will enable a man to perform is 267 tons
raised one foot high, a fair day’s work for a labourer being 2 foot-
tons per lb. of his body weight. The amount of dry muscle or flesh
that can be produced from 1 lb. of bread is about 1{ oz.
Wheat takes precedence of all other cereals as a bread grain,
and this is chiefly owing to the glutinous nature of a large pro-
portion of the albuminoids. When carbonic: acid gas is intro-
duced into the dough, either by means of fermentation or aeration,
the elastic gluten impedes the escape of this gas, and causes it to
accumulate in bubbles; the innumerable small cavities thus
formed in the dough are fixed by the heat of the oven, and the
result is a light, spongy bread. Dough made from the other grains
which lack this glutinous property will not rise properly, and
therefore makes a heavy bread, or can only be made into cakes.
The various processes of milling which the wheat-grain undergoes
considerably modify the percentages above given, particularly in
the modern roller mills where the operations of grinding and
sifting are repeated many times in order to produce a snow-white
and almost impalpable flour. During these operations, as will be
readily understood on reference to fig. 40, numerous mill-products
are obtained—fine and seconds flour, middlings, sharps, pollard
and bran ; these products having each a different chemical com-
position and food-value. In the production of the finest flour,
this system of high milling eliminates every particle of the coats of
the grain as well as the embryo. The removal of the embryo,
because its presence would give a yellowish tinge to the flour, is
unjustifiable ; this is the most nutritious part of the grain, the per-
centage of albuminoids and diastase in the embryo being 35 ; oil,
13 ; mineral matter, 5'5 ; more than half of the last-named being
phosphoric acid, a nutrient of bone and brain. Asa result of milling
wheat, 75 per cent. of white flour is obtained, and the offal (sharps,
pollard and bran) amounts to about 23 per cent. Seconds flour is
richer in nutrient matters than the finer grades, the latter containing
2 per cent. less albuminoids than are present in the grain, and about
5 per cent. more starch, while the percentage of oil and salts is in
each case reduced to ‘8. Bread made from fine wheaten flour con-
tains about 40 per cent. of water, 7 per cent. albuminoids, about 50
per cent. starch, and 17 per cent. salts (including table salt). Whole
meal, only the outermost coat of the grain having been removed,
contains all the nutrients of the grain, but also a considerable
amount of indigestible cellulose. A finely-ground flour, containing
the embryos, but no portion of any of the coats of the grain (this is
known in the trade as germ-flour), makes a perfect bread, well
vesiculated, sweet, and with a delicate aroma; it keeps moister
than bread made from ordinary flour, and is of course more
nutritious. 380 lbs. of bread can be made from a 20 stone sack
of flour. Macaroni is prepared from the horny wheats of Southern
Europe; it is more highly nitrogenous than bread. Semolina
consists of the coarse particles of the interior of the grain. The
78 USES
yearly consumption of wheat in the United Kingdom is about
240 million bushels, three-fourths of which (valued at over
£30,000,000) are imported.
Rice is computed to be the staple food of one-third of mankind,
and the yearly produce in India, China, and Japan is roundly
estimated at 100,000,000 tons. Paddy is the grain in its husk, and
the product of milling paddy is the pearled grain familiar to us.
A considerable quantity is ground into flour for making puddings,
cakes, etc., but the universal method of preparing the grains for
food, in all parts of the world, is boiling them. The nourishing
constituents of rice are in 100 parts: albuminoids, 74 ; starch, 76;
fat, o'7; salts, 0°5; the nutrient ratio being 1: 103, nutrient value 85.
The rice-consuming peoples of the East invariably use this grain
in combination with some other highly nitrogenous food (beef,
mutton, fish, eggs, pulse), which compensates the deficiency of
rice in albuminoids and oil, experience having taught them what
Europeans have discovered by chemical analysis. Old rice is
more digestible than new; the neutral flavour of this grain renders
it especially suitable for combination with other kinds of food.
Maize stands in the same important relation to the inhabitants
of the new world as wheat does to those of Europe, and rice to
those of Southern Asia. Maize is used as human food in various
forms: the grains may be broken or split (hominy), or pearled
(samp), or roasted until they burst and the starch becomes everted
(popcorn), or they may be parched. The usual method, however,
of treating this grain is to grind it into meal. Mush, or “corn”
meal boiled, is a universal article of diet in the United States,
nutritious and easily digested. Ground maize cannot be made into
bread, owing to its lack of viscidity when moistened, unless mixed
with wheaten flour in about equal proportions. In Mexico, Central
and South America, it is baked into thin cakes. The average
composition of maize is, in 100 parts : water, 14 ; albuminoids, 9°2;
starch, 68; fat, 5 ; salts, 1°8 ; cellulose, 2. Soit is poorer than wheat
in flesh-formers, but contains more oil than any of the other grains,
oats excepted ; it has a high nutrient value, namely 88. Various
preparations of maize sold in this country as corn-flour, maizena,
etc., are used for puddings and blanc-mange, but as they are largely
adulterated with starch, the percentage of albuminoids is very low.
One of the most nutritious cereals is the oat. The grains are
prepared for human food by being kiln-dried, husked, and ground
into meal which is used in the form of porridge and cakes.
Oaten flour lacks the glutinous property necessary in a bread
grain. The nourishing constituents of oatmeal are, in 100 parts :
water, 10 ; albuminoids, 14 ; starch, 65 ; fat, 7; mineral matters, 2;
the nutrient ratio being 1:52, nutrient value 95, or even 100 in
some samples. Oatmeal is richer in nitrogenous matters than
wheat (the horny varieties of wheat excepted) and is richer in fat
than any of the other grains ; it therefore approaches more nearly
to the composition of a perfectly adjusted food.
Barley, largely used as food by ancient peoples, has now given
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES 79
place to wheat in most countries. Only a very small proportion of
the barley grown in Britain is milled, the products, pot and pearl
barley, being used for soups, puddings, etc. Barley is deficient in
albuminoids or flesh formers, the nutrient ratio being 1:12; the
percentages of fat and salts, and the nutrient value, are about the
same as in wheat. In some countries barley-flour is mixed with
wheaten flour for making bread. Rye-flour makes a dark-coloured,
heavy and sourish bread (black bread) or cake, which is the staple
food in many parts of Scandinavia, Germany and Russia; it is
inferior to wheat in fat, nitrogen, and salts ; the nutrient ratio
being 1:9. The millets are an important food in Southern Asia
and tropical Africa ; in India they dispute with rice the first place
as a vegetable food ; some of them are equal to wheat in nutrient
constituents, and they usually contain a larger percentage of oil.
Manna kroup, the grains of Glyceria fluztans, decorticated and
partly crushed, is an article of diet in some parts of Northern
Europe. The grains of Zzanza aguatica, Canadian rice, abundant
by streams and lakes in North America, are gathered by the
Indians for food.
We have now to consider the cereal grains as the source of
the commonest of our food-adjuncts, namely alcoholic beverages.
Various kinds of grain are used for the manufacture of fermented
drinks ; barley is largely used for this purpose in our own country ;
rye in Russia, maize in America, rice in Japan; some of the
millets, too, are used in this way. In the manufacture of beer, the
grains are first malted in order to convert the insoluble starch into
soluble dextrine (a kind of gum) and ultimately into maltose or
sugar, the formula for this chemical action being
cé H? OF4 H?0=C& H! o&
(Starch) (Water)
glucose or grape sugar. The maltster causes the grains to ger-
minate for Io or 12 days, so that a large amount of the starch is
dissolved by the diastatic ferment of the cotyledon ; he next dries
them in a kiln, during which operation a portion of the starch
not hitherto acted upon is transformed into dextrine. Only a very
small proportion of the proteids is rendered soluble. The
plumule and radicle (coombs) are removed, and the screened grain
(malt) is ready for the brewer. In the process of brewing, the
malt is crushed and infused in hot water (mashed) in order to
extract all the soluble constituents ; the resulting liquor, called
wort, is boiled with hops; fermentation, the next process, takes
place to a limited extent, part of the sugar being changed into
alcohol and carbonic acid gas, the latter imparting briskness to the
beer. One quarter of malt will make 3 barrels of ale (108 gallons),
125,000,000 bushels of barley are annually used in the United
Kingdom, mostly for malting and distilling ; half of this quantity
being imported. Saké, prepared from rice, is the national alcoholic
beverage in Japan; one bushel of rice yields 10 gallons of saké.
80 USES
For the manufacture of spirits,-barley, oats, maize, rice, wheat
and rye are all employed, but more especially the three first named.
The saccharine liquor obtained from these grains, by the conver-
sion of starch into sugar, is by the distiller fermented to the utmost
extreme in order to produce as much alcohol as possible, the
chemical equation of this fermentative change being
CeH¥O& = 2C°H*9O + 2C0%
(Glucose) (Alcohol) (Carbon dioxide)
The enormous quantity of carbonic acid gas evolved is allowed to
escape, and the alcohol is separated from the fermented liquor by
means of retorts, the vapour that is given off consisting mostly of
the more volatile alcohol. 18 gallons of proof spirit (containing
49¢ per cent. of alcohol) can be manufactured from one quarter of
barley. Whiskey and gin are for the most part manufactured from
this grain, the gin being flavoured with oil of juniper berries or
with turpentine. Maize is used most commonly in the United
States distilleries, and now largely in this country. 70 million
bushels of maize were imported into the United Kingdom last
year, valued at £8,000,000. Glucose, prepared from maize by
means of a weak solution of sulphuric acid, is now very largely
used for strengthening the wort; cane sugar (CygH».O41) is used
for the same purpose. The juice of the sugar-cane, or more cor-
rectly the molasses, a bye-product in the manufacture of sugar, is
most generally used for the distillation of rum. The molasses
obtained from 100 tons of cane yield by distillation about 20 to 25
gallons of alcohol. Only a very small quantity of the spirits manu-
factured is used for other purposes than as a beverage. Vinegar
is largely manufactured from the fermented liquor of various
grains, the alcohol being converted by oxidation into acetic acid.
For our supplies of sugar we were, until recent years, almost
entirely dependent upon the grass family ; now more than half
the quantity of sugar manufactured is obtained from beet. Sugar
is present in considerable quantities in the stems of some grasses,
notably in those of the sugar-cane (Saccharum officinarum), the
sap or juice of which contains about 21 per cent. ofsugar. Sorghum
saccharatum, Chinese sugar-grass, yields about 13 per cent. of
sugar, and is cultivated in China, and to some extent in Southern
Europe, America and Australia. The stems of maize also yield
sugar, but the quantity, 7 per cent., is too small to make its ex-
traction profitable. The cultivation of Saccharum officinarum is
very general in tropical and subtropical countries, and is in many
parts the staple industry. This is a handsome grass with culms
10 or 12 feet high, leaves 3 or 4 feet long, and a feathery panicle ;
it is perennial, and continues productive for 10 or 15 years; it is
probably indigenous to India, Cochin China, and the Malay Archi-
pelago, and has spread westward ; it reached Europe about the
12th century, the Canaries in 1503, San Domingo 1520, and was
well established in America by the middle of the 16th century.
The culms or “canes” are cut when about to flower, the yield
SUGAR—FORAGE 81
being about 20 tons to the acre. The ordinary method of ex-
pressing the juice, by crushing the canes between rollers, has now
largely given place to the superior diffusion process, the canes
being sliced into very thin transverse sections, and these placed in
tanks through which hot water is made to circulate until the
saccharine matter is entirely dissolved out. The yield of juice
from crushed canes varies from 70 to 85 per cent. The juice is
boiled down, and raw or brown sugar obtained by crystallization,
the uncrystallizable residue being molasses. 100 tons of cane
yield 6 or 7 tons of raw sugar, or more, according to the efficiency
of the process. The dark-brown colour of this raw sugar is due to
each crystal being coated with a film of mother liquor containing
various impurities. The elimination of the latter is effected in the
refineries, either in the country of production or consumption, the
raw sugar being dissolved, purified, and then recrystallized in
vacuum pans at a low boiling temperature to avoid the formation
of uncrystallizable glucose ; the crystals finally obtained are dried
in centrifugal machines. Loaf sugar and the large dry crystals are
almost quite pure; the moist brown contains a considerable
quantity of syrup and is therefore inferior in quality. The liquid
residuum of the refining process is treacle or golden syrup, which
contains about 35 per cent. of true sugar and 30 per cent of glucose
or grape sugar. The world’s production of cane-sugar is about
3 million tons, of which 1,300,000 tons come from the West Indies
(the Cuban crop being 900,000 tons, valued at £12,000,000) ;
320,000 tons are produced in Java, while India, China, Manilla, the
United States, Guiana, Brazil, Mauritius, and Natal, produce each
from 100,000 to 200,000 tons; Egypt, Argentina, Peru, Mexico,
Reunion, the Sandwich Islands, and Australia (principally Queens-
land), 30,0co0 to 60,000 tons each.
What the cereal grasses are to man, the pasture grasses are to
one of the largest and by far the most important of all the groups
of the Mammalia—the Ungulata, or hoofed animals—comprising
the equines, and especially the ruminants, namely, oxen, sheep,
goats, and antelopes, the Ceryvzd@ or true deer, the camel, and
Nama, which feed almost exclusively upon the herbage of grasses.
Various other animals subsist more or less upon grass, e.g. some
of the marsupials and rodents, and even some of the larger avifauna,
such as the struthious and anserine birds ; many of the smaller
birds feed to some extent upon seedling grasses. The utility of
grasses for forage is of course paramount in relation to the domes-
ticated animals which are of greatest service to man, and which,
under his especial care, have so greatly multiplied as to far out-
number all other large mammalian forms. The ruminants, or
animals which chew the cud, having a compound stomach peculi-
arly adapted to the digestion of grass-herbage, also an alimentary
canal of unusual length, it is this physiological adaptation to
environment, namely, an exceeding abundance of grass-herbage,
which enables man to rear these animals in such immense numbers,
HH. G é G
82 USES
since they obtain their food for the most part without the necessity
of his labour to provide it. The numbers of cattle and sheep which
subsist on the vast natural pastures of the world are beyond con-
ception. Of sheep and cattle in our own country there are respec-
tively 30,000,000 and 11,000,000, and very much larger herds and
flocks are reared in the United States, the Argentine Republic,
and the Australasian colonies. An American writer tries to convey
an idea of the number of cattle in the state of Kansas, by stating
that if they were all destined for the supply of the city of New
York, and were started five abreast, the heads of one rank being
just a rod in advance of the next, and they were driven through
Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the Empire
State, the head of the herd would be crossing Haarlem river before
the tail of it had crossed the Missouri at Atchison. 100,000,000
sheep are pastured in Australia (half of them in New South
Wales), and 18,000,000 in New Zealand. The live stock of Argen-
tina is estimated to be 25,000,000 cattle, 80,000,000 sheep, and
5,000,000 horses.
The British grasses available for pasturage are few in comparison
to the total number of our species. Alopecurus pratensis, Festuca
pratensis and Lolium perenne are the three most valuable meadow
grasses ; they produce a large quantity of nutritious leaves and
succulent stems, and are especially suitable for making hay. Fes-
tuca duriuscula is an excellent bottom-grass, producing abundance
of tender foliage. Poa pratensis and P. trivialis are also valued
meadow grasses, the former is particularly esteemed in the United
States, where it is known as Kentucky Blue-grass. Dactylzs
glomerata and Phleum pratense produce a large amount of nutri-
tious herbage, though rather coarse ; the latter yields much heavier
crops in North America than in England. TZr¢se¢um flavescens has
only slender foliage, but is relished by cattle. Avrhenatherum
avenaceum occupies an inferior place to other grasses in our own
country, but is largely grown in the United States for its abundant
yield. Anthoxanthum odoratum is esteemed for the fragrance it
imparts to hay. Cyzosurus cristatus and Festuca ovina are the
sheep grasses par excellence. The latter grows abundantly in hilly
districts, and is the chief constituent of the Highland pastures ;
mutton fed upon it is superior both in flavour and quality. Agvos-
iis alba, var. stolontfera, fiorin-grass, yields a heavy crop in spongy
soil and irrigated meadows. The composition of meadow-hay is,
approximately, in 100 parts: water, 16 ; albuminoids, 13 ; fat, 1°5 ;
carbohydrates, 40’; ash, 6°0; remainder fibre ;—of pasture : water,
78 ; albuminoids, 3°7 ; fat, o°4; starch, etc., 1o'2 ; mineral matters, 2.
28,000,000 acres are under permanent pasture in the British Isles,
6,000,000 of this for hay. This is exclusive of grasses sown under
rotation, usually in combination with other forage plants. Lo/zum
perenne is grown as a self-crop. The cereals are often cultivated
as green crops for feeding cattle, more especially in countries
where dryness of the climate makes the natural pasturage scanty.
The grains of the cereals are largely used to supplement the
PAPER—CORDAGE 83
forage of domesticated animals—the oat, for example, is chiefly
cultivated for feeding horses; maize, and any kind of damaged
grain, the offal of the flour-mills (sharps, pollard, and bran), the
spent grain from breweries and distilleries, also the coombs, are all
utilized as cattle-food, often in combination with the straw of the
cereals. The grains of wild grasses are largely eaten by some
kinds of birds, especially the Ga/dine or game birds, the Columbide
or pigeons, various waterfowl, and the large family of the finches
(Fringiliide) which have a short conical beak adapted for crush-
ing hard seeds and grains. Mill-products, millet-grains (chiefly
Setaria italica, Sorghum vulgare, and Panicum miliaceum), and
maize-meal, are commonly used for feeding poultry. Phalaris
canariensts is cultivated in the south of England, on the continent
of Europe, and in North Africa, for the grains known as canary-
seed, used for feeding cage-birds.
Before cdsmissing this subject of the utility of grasses in furnish-
ing food for man and the animals he has domesticated, we shall
do well to pause for a little reflection upon its relation to the
industry, commerce, and wealth of nations, as well as to man’s
subsistence—our dependence not only upon the cereal grasses for
our staple vegetable food, but indirectly upon the forage grasses
for our supplies of animal food, viz. beef, mutton, venison, and
dairy produce, as well as for various animal substances such as
wool and hair, hides and skins, bone and horn, oil and tallow, used
for textile and other manufactures (notably woollen fabrics and
leather), or for domestic purposes—the large proportion of the
world’s inhabitants engaged in agricultural (chiefly cereal culti-
vation) and pastoral pursuits; in some countries 70 to go per
cent. of the adult male population—the vast internal and foreign
trade connected with the distribution of agricultural produce by
land and sea—the numerous and important industries concerned
in operating upon one or other form of this produce in order to
prepare it for consumption; and lastly, the enormous capital
employed in all these industrial activities, and the consequent
accumulation of wealth. It is only when we take a comprehensive
survey, such as we have indicated, that we are able to form some
conception of the transcendent importance of the Graminee.
The uses of grasses in the arts and manufactures, other than the
manufacture of sugar and fermented drinks, though not for a
moment, to be compared to their utility as a source of food, are
nevertheless very numerous, and in some cases important.
The stems and leaves of various grasses are utilized for the
manufacture of paper, the particular species so employed depend-
ing chiefly upon the locality of the manufacture ; rye straw, for
example, is largely used in Germany; the stems of maize most
extensively in the United States, and to a limited extent the leaves
of Saccharum officinarum and the stems of Zizania aguatica ;
various species of bamboo, chiefly the young shoots, are used in
the Indian and Chinese paper-mills, also the stems and leaves of
84 USES
Saccharum sara and S. munja. In our own country, the paper-
making material of gramineous origin most commonly employed is
the leaves of alfa-grass or csparto, S¢7pa (Macrochloa) tenacissima.
The preparation of pulp from these raw materials consists essen-
tially in the separation of the prosenchyma and the disintegration
of the fibrovascular bundles, since it is the individual fibres which,
in the process of paper-making, interlace to form a tough felt.
This disintegration and the resolution of the fatty, resinous, and
silicious matters is effected by boiling in a 10-20 per cent. solution
of caustic soda. Straw is largely used for making paper and
papier maché in many countries because of its cheapness and the
white pulp it yields. In the United States it is extensively used
for the manufacture of straw-boards, being first made into stout
paper, and then successive layers of the latter glued together and
compressed by hydraulics. Coach panels, railway and tramcar
wheels, perforated chair seats, etc., are made of strawboards ; they
are also used for building purposes—sheathing in place of laths
and plaster and, when waterproofed, for roofing. Esparto is
superior to straw for paper-making ; the fibrovascular tissue of its
leaves is much more readily isolated than that of straw, the hard
nodes of the latter requiring more drastic treatment, which tends
to diminish the yield of pulp and to weaken the fibre. The yield
of cellulose from esparto is 45 per cent., and it is used either alone
or in combination with straw, rags, wood, etc., according to the
quality of paper desired. Esparto paper is esteemed by printers
for its smoothness, opacity, and mellowness. Esparto grass grows
abundantly on the sandy coasts of North Africa (in Algeria, Tunis,
and Tripoli), and on the Mediterranean coast of Spain; it is
estimated to cover 15,000,000 acres in the plain of the Shotts at
the southern foot of the Atlas, growing in and around the marshy
lakes ; it is the most important article of export from Algeria, but
is not at all cultivated. The leaves are rigid, involute, and clothed
with microscopic hairs, some of which survive the pulping process
and therefore characterize the paper. The fibres are ,'; of an inch
long, ratio of length to diameter 125; straw fibres have similar
dimensions. Esparto grass was introduced into England as a
paper-making material 4o years ago, the Ford Works, near Sun-
derland, being the first to employ it extensively. The quantity
annually brought to the United Kingdom is now upwards of
200,000 tons, valued at about three-quarters of a million sterling ;
three-fourths of it come from Africa, the remainder from Spain.
Young bamboo yields an excellent fibre, but the cost of transport
precludes its importation into England.
Cordage is made in some countries from the stems and leaves of
grasses ; in Spain the manufacture of ropes and cables from the
leaves of esparto-grass is an important industry ; these cables are
so buoyant as to float on the water, and are used by the Spanish
navy. In the countries of the East the young stems of bamboo are
split lengthwise into shreds, which are pounded until soft and
made into ropes and string; in India the leaves of Saccharum
MULTIFARIOUS USES OF BAMBOO, ETC. 85
sara and S. munja, 6-8 feet long, are twisted into ropés, which
are valued for their elasticity, strength, and resistance to the
action of water.
The miscellaneous and mostly native uses to which grasses are
applied are exceedingly numerous and varied. The bamboos excel
all other grasses in this respect, being employed for every con-
ceivable purpose. In the countries where bamboos abound they
furnish the material most generally used for building houses, the
stronger stems for posts, rafters, etc., the thin stems (either whole
or split) for making floors and walls, thatching, matting, etc.
Three-fourths of the houses in India are made entirely of bamboo,
and there is hardly a domestic article in India, China, or Japan
that is not made entirely or partly of this material. Elegant
furniture, beautifully mottled, and taking a high polish, is made of
the stems of bamboo, and is now largely imported into Europe.
The lightness, strength, and flexibility of bamboo-stems, and their
resistance to the action of water, make them peculiarly adapted
for many purposes which nothing else could so well serve ; for
example, bridges, light scaling-ladders (the stems being notched
at the sides), which can be carried much more easily than ladders
of heavier wood, masts, yards, and oars of boats, rafts, poles of
palanquins, etc., lance shafts (Dendrocalamus strictus and one or
two allied species with solid stems, known as male bamboos, are
most commonly used for this’ purpose), bows, arrows, quivers,
clubs, walking sticks, fishing rods. Split bamboo is now largely
used in Europe for making fishing rods. The Indians of the
Orinoco and Upper Amazon use the stem of a bamboo (A7fhro-
stylidium Schomburgkit) as a blow-pipe for their poisoned arrows ;
the lowest internode, 12 to 16 feet long, with a diameter of 14
inches, is the part used. Bamboo stems are also used for scaffold-
ing, for making various agricultural implements, and vehicles of
every description. Thorny bamboos, when growing, form an
impenetrable stockade. The stems of some species are so hard
and flinty that they serve as a whetstone, and thin chips of the
hard outer portion of the stems are used by the Indians as knives,
as well for ordinary purposes as for arming the bottom of pits dug
to ensnare wild animals. Owing to their buoyancy, bamboo rafts
are very largely used for floating heavier timber down the rivers.
Portions of the stems are used for an infinite variety of purposes ;
when cut into short lengths and the nodes removed they make
water-pipes. An internode, together with a node, makes a re-
ceptacle for all kinds of small articles, and also serves as a pitcher,
or a bottle, or a drinking vessel, and as a trade measure for both
liquids and solids. Pieces of thick bamboo, 3-6 ft. long, with the
partitions perforated, are used by the hill watermen of India ;
water can be carried in these long tubes for days without becoming
warm or in any way deteriorating. In the internodes of the green
stems fresh flowers can be conveyed for hundreds of miles without
withering ; the eggs of the silkworm were brought in bamboo
stems from China to Constantinople in the time of the Emperor
86 USES
Justinian. Ornamental trinkets, in many instances exquisitely
carved, are made by the Indians and Chinese of portions of the
thick stems ; also musical instruments, flutes, etc. In the Malay
peninsula a curious Eolian harp is made of the live bamboo of a
village clump or distant jungle ; the culms are perforated in such
a way that when the wind blows through them sounds are pro-
duced, “at times soft and liquid like the notes of a flute, and again
deep and full like those of an organ.” The thin stems, or the
larger ones split into shreds, are almost universally used. in the
East for basket-work, and for making mats, brooms, brushes,
window- and sun-blinds, shoes, etc. When bitten into fibres they
are woven into a durable fabric for making coarse clothing, sack-
ing, etc.; the body-cloth of the natives of Celebes is so made.
Mats made of the split stems are used all over the East for walls,
floors, screens, etc. ; in some of the northern parts of India the
houses are almost entirely constructed of these mats, Bamdbusa
Tulda being the species most frequently used. The Chinese use
the leaves of bamboo for lining their tea chests. The tender shoots
of bamboo, either cooked or pickled, are used as food both in
India and China, and are cultivated for this purpose. The grains
of bamboos furnish immense quantities of food when a general
flowering takes place, but this is only at intervals of a great many
years ; on some occasions this has prevented a famine. The twigs
and leaves of bamboo are largely consumed by the Indian elephant,
both wild and domesticated. The uses of bamboo for cordage and
paper-making have already been mentioned.
A great many kinds of grasses besides bamboos are applied
in different countries to one or other of the uses above-named.
Baskets, mats, etc., are made of the culms of Ammophila arundt-
nacea, Elymus arenarius, and the leaves of Stipa tenactssima.
The culms of Arundo donax, a cane-like grass, 8-10 feet high,
native of Southern Europe, are used for walking-sticks, measuring
rods, musical pipes, etc. The fragrant roots of Andropogon murt-
catus (cuscus roots), abundant in India, are softened and woven
into mats, which are hung over doors and verandahs, and sprinkled
with water to scent and cool the heated atmosphere ; they are also
largely used for making fans. The roots of another species of
Andropogon (A. gryllus), grown in the south of Europe, are largely
imported into Britain for making toilet and other brushes. The
roots of Cyzodon dactylon are used in some parts of India for feed-
ing domesticated animals. The roots of Agropyrum repens, the
worst weed of British husbandry, when boiled are a nutritious food
for swine. In the United States the panicles of Sorghum vulgare
and .S. saccharatum are used for making brushes and carpet-
brooms, which are very durable, and some are imported into Eng-
land. The leaves of the larger kinds of grasses are often used for
thatching, those of the sugar-cane, for example, in the countries
where it is cultivated. The culms of Phragmites communis are
applied to this and other uses in the fen district of England ; in
the early centuries they were used for making pens. The crushed
MATERIA MEDICA 87
stems of the sugar-cane (megasse) serve as fuel for the furnaces of
the sugar plantations. The straw of the cereal grasses is exten-
sively used for straw plaiting for bonnets, hats, etc., retaining
its natural polish for an indefinite time, the culms of Trdticum
sfelta (Leghorn straw) being the best for this purpose. The wiry
culms of some British grasses, e.g. Cynosurus cristatus and Molinia
cerulea, are suitable for very fine plaiting, and are so used. In
many tropical countries the bead-like grains of Cozy lachryma
are used for ornamenting articles of dress. Azerochloe borealis,
common in Northern Europe, contains an essential oil like that
of the Sweet Vernal-grass; it is fragrant in a fresh state, and in
Germany, Sweden, and Lapland is strewn about churches on festival
days. It is almost superfluous to add that the straw of cereals is
used for an infinite variety of purposes other than those already
named—for thatching, bedding for animals, stuffing mattresses
and many other articles, for matting, basket-work, for packing
fragile articles and goods liable to damage in transit, and as a
protective covering for bottles, etc.
Starch obtained from the cereal grains is largely used in other
ways than as food. It is separated trom wheat, rice, etc., by means
of dilute caustic potash ; the starch chiefly used for laundry pur-
poses is obtained in this way from rice, and is largely used in the
muslin manufacture and calico printing, and for toilet powder and
adhesive paste ; damaged wheaten flour is used for dressing cotton
fabrics. In recent years an important industry has been developed
in the manufacture of glucose or grape sugar, and of dextrin or
British gum, from grain-starch, by means of a weak solution of
sulphuric acid. Millions of bushels of maize are thus annually
converted into glucose in the United States. The principal use of
glucose is in brewing and distilling ; it is also employed in the
manufacture of tobacco and candles, and very largely in confec-
tionery and as a table syrup. Dextrin is used for dressing textile
fabrics, and as an adhesive material for postage stamps, envelopes,
labels, etc. The bran of flour-mills is now utilized for the prepara-
tion of a superior table salt; the mineral matters contained in
bran are separated by a special process and added in certain pro-
portion to chloride of sodium.
The medicinal uses of grasses are not of much importance, save
perhaps in India. Some yield an essential oil, eg. Andropogon
citratus, D.C., extensively cultivated in India and Ceylon, yields
oil of verbena or lemon-grass oil, valuable in rheumatism and
cholera ; the fresh young leaves are used in some parts of India
as a substitute for tea. Andropogon Nardus, cultivated in Ceylon
and Singapore, yields citronella oil, used for scenting soap, etc.
From another species of Andropogon (A. Schenanthus), growing
both wild and cultivated in India, roussa oil, or ginger-grass oil, is
obtained ; it is a rubefacient, and applied externally in rheumatic
affections; it is largely used in perfumery, and imported into
Europe principally for adulterating attar of roses. Azchoxanthum
odoratum yields a volatile oil called coumarin, similar to that of
88 USES
woodruff, the Tonquin bean and melitot; it greatly improves the
flavour of hay. The leaves and roots cf some grasses are used
medicinally by the native Indian doctors ; an infusion of the leaves
of Andropogon citratus is used as a stomachic and diaphoretic ;
an infusion of the roots of A. murtcatus is a gentle stimulant and
febrifuge, and the powdered roots are applied externally, with milk,
in skin eruptions, etc. A cooling drink is made from the rhizomes
of Cynodon dactylon. Tabasheer, a silicious crystalline substance
often found in the cavity of the culms of bamboos, is used in native
Indian practice as a drug for many ailments, although it is doubt-
ful whether it possesses all the medicinal properties ascribed to it ;
its chief use is as a stimulant and aphrodisiac. Ergot is a micro-
scopic fungus (Claviceps purpurea) which attacks the fruit of
grasses ; the hyphze form a purple spur-like body, ? inch long.
Rye is a common host of this parasite, and ergot of rye is a
valuable medicine in obstetrics. The spurs of ergot are highly
poisonous, and where rye is largely used as a breadstuff, they
sometimes cause terrible gangrenous disease. The only grass
that appears to be poisonous is Lolzum Llemulentum, supposed to
be the tares of Scripture : the deleterious property is in the grain.
Grasses subserve some useful offices in nature. The maritime
species with subterranean stolons are invaluable for binding loose
sand, and cause the formation of sand hillocks. But for Ammo-
phila arundinacea, Agropyrum junceum and Elymus arenarius, the
sea would make serious inroads upon many parts of our coast. In
the reign of Elizabeth an Act of Parliament was passed to protect
Ammophila arundinacea, then largely used for basket-work and
matting. This grass and Elymus arenarius are cultivated and
vigilantly guarded on the Dutch coast. Another important economy
of grasses is their action in purifying the atmosphere; every blade
of grass is a laboratory in which the carbonic acid gas of the
atmosphere, in excess poisonous to animal life, is split into its
elements, the carbon being retained for the use of the plant and
the oxygen liberated. The utility of grasses in this way is of
course most obvious in and around centres of population. Every
little grass-plot in town gardens helps to revitalize the vitiated air.
Chief among the ornamental uses of grasses is “the covering of
the dark ground by that glorious enamel, by the companies of those
soft and countless and peaceful spears . . . the life of sunlight
upon the world, falling in emerald streaks, and falling in soft and
blue shadows, where else it would have struck upon the dark mould
of scorching dust. Pastures beside the pacing brooks; soft banks
and knolls of lowly hills ; thymy slopes of down, overlooked by the
blue line of lifted sea; crisp lawns, all dim with early dew or smooth
in evening warmth of barred sunshine, dinted by happy feet, and
softening in their fall the sound of happy voices.” Thanks to
our cool-temperate and insular climate, English lawns are unsur-
passed, and rarely equalled, in their perennial verdure, by those of
any other country. Cyzosurus cristatus, Festuca duriuscula, and
ORNAMENT 89
F. ovina, var. tenuifolia, Poa pratensis, P. trivialis, P. nemoralis
(var. sempervirens), and a fine-leaved variety of Lolium perenne,
are the grasses most suitable for lawns. Z7zfolium minus, a small-
leaved clover, is often combined with these.
Tall tropical or subtropical grasses are imposing objects in the
landscape-garden ; a clump of bamboos, for instance, with their
mottled and polished stems and canopy of light green foliage ;
unfortunately, these will only thrive in warm countries. Allusion
has been made elsewhere to Gynertum argenteum as an example
of subtropical grasses : it is grown in some English gardens, but
the beautiful tints of its large, plumy panicle, varying from the
faintest rose-blush to purple and violaceous, are not perfected in
our climate. _ The dried panicles may be seen in nearly every
florist’s window. The variegated leaved Ribbon-grass (Phalaris
arundinacea) is familiar to every one as a garden favourite. Many
exotic dwarf grasses, such as Sriza maxima, Eragrostis elegans,
Lagurus ovatus, Avena sterilis, Hordeum jubatum and Stipa
pennata, are cultivated by florists for the elegance and airy beauty
of their panicles ; these are admirably suited for interspersing with
bright flowers in bouquets and vases. Nearly every home is
decorated with bouquets of dried and coloured grasses, and these
would be prettier still if more delicately stained and tastefully
grouped. Grasses do not figure so largely in our flower- and
landscape-gardens as they deserve to do; but in truth, there is no
need for this, when meadow, heath and woodland display such a
profusion of beautiful grasses, with graceful ensiform foliage and
clouds of feathery and delicately tinted panicles. No effort of the
horticulturist could achieve the grand effects of the massing of
grasses which we see in Nature.
INDEX TO CHAPTER II. (LATIN NAMES),
Synonyms in z¢adics.
Agropyrum acutum (T7riticum), 36.
caninum (Triticum), 34.
junceum ne 35.
pungens ia 30.
repens ” 45:
Agrostis alba, 29, 40.
canina, 26.
setacea, 27.
vulgaris, 22, 27.
Aira caryophyllea, 47.
preecox, 47.
Alopecurus agrestis, 42.
alpinus, 50.
bulbosus, 41.
fulvus, 31.
geniculatus, 28.
pratensis, 19.
Ammophila arundinacea (Psamma),
35:
baltica, 36.
Anthoxanthum odoratum, 18.
Puelii, 24.
Apera interrupta (Agrostis), 44.
Spica-venti ‘i 44.
Arrhenatherum avenaceum (Avena
elatior, Holcus avenaceus), 45.
Avena fatua, 42.
pratensis, 26, 50.
pubescens, 26.
strigosa, 43.
Brachypodium pinnatum, 48.
sylvaticum, 33.
Briza media, 24.
minor, 44.
Bromus arvensis (Serrafalcus), 43.
“asper, 33.
commutatus ‘i 24.
erectus, 48.
madritensis, 48.
maximus, 39.
mollis (Servafalcus), 19, 40.
racemosus ,, 23.
secalinus ii 42.
sterilis, 46.
Calamagrostis Epigeios (Avundo), 34.
lanceolata gt.
' Catabrosa aquatica, 30, 37.
Corynephorus canescens (Azra,
Weingertneria), 38.
go
Cynodon dactylon (Fidéchia umbel-
lata), 38.
Cynosurus cristatus, 21.
echinatus, 39.
Dactylis glomerata, 20.
Deschampsia alpina (Azra), 49.
ceespitosa as 29, 28,
flexuosa 1 25, 32, 50.
Deyeuxia neglecta (Calamagrostis
stricta, Arundo), 31.
Elymus arenarius, 36.
Festuca ambigua, 47.
duriuscula, 20.
elatior, 30, 40.
gigantea (Bromus), 32.
Myuros, 47.
ovina, 24, 40, 50.
pratensis, 22.
rubra, 36.
sciuroides, 47.
sylvatica, 35.
uniglumis, 38.
Gastridium lendigerum, 38.
Glyceria aquatica, 30.
Borreri (Sclerochloa), 4t.
distans os 37.
fluitans, 28.
loliacea (Festuca, Sclerochloa),
37.
maritima (Sclerochloa), 40.
procumbens (Sclerochloa,
Festuca), 41. ;
rigida (Sclerochloa, Festuca), 47.
Hierochloe borealis, 50.
Holcus lanatus, 21.
mollis, 32
Hordeum maritimum, 38.
murinum, 46, 37.
pratense, 23.
sylvaticum (Elymus Europeus)
35.
Koeleria cristata, 27.
Lagurus ovatus, 39.
Leersia oryzoides (Homalocenchrus)
31.
Lepturus filiformis (Rotddallia), 40.
Lolium italicum, 43.
perenne, 20.
temulentum, 43.
INDEX gr
Melica nutans, 34.
uniflora, 33.
Mibora verna (Chamagrostis minima,
Knappia agrostidea,
Mibora minima), 39.
Milium effusum, 33.
Molinia czerulea, = 50.
Nardus stricta, 2.
Panicum Craegetl (Echinochloa), 44.
~ glabrum (Digitaria), 49.
sanguinale 44.
Phalaris arundinacea (Digraphis), 29.
canariensis, 46.
Phleum alpinum, 50.
arenarium, 37.
phalaroides (P. Boehkmeri), 48.
pratense, 2
Phragmites communis (Arundo,
Phragmites), 30.
Poa alpina, 49.
annua, 45.
bulbosa, 36.
compressa, 47.
laxa, 49.
nemoralis, 34, 50.
pratensis, 19, 28.
stricta, 50.
trivialis, 21.
Polypogon littoralis, 42.
monspeliensis, 42...
Sesleria czerulea, 27.
Setaria verticillata (eanicum) 43.
viridis 43.
Spartina alterniflora, 4u.
stricta, 41.
Townsendii, 42.
Triodia decumbens (Szegdingia), 25.
Trisetum flavescens fica, 22.
N.B.—Where the number of more than one page is given, the first refers to
the typical species, the other numbers to its varieties.
INDEX TO CHAPTER II. (ENGLISH NAMES).
Barley, Meadow, 23.
Sea, 38.
Wall, 46.
Wood, 35.
Beard-grass, Annual, 42.
Perennial, 42.
Bent, Bristle-leaved, 27.
Brown, 26.
Dense-flowered Silky, 44.
Fine, 22.
Marsh, 29.
Spreading Silky, 44.
Bristle-grass, Green, 43.
Rough, 43.
Brome, Barren, 46.
Confused, 24.
Field, 43.
Great, 39.
Hairy Wood, 33.
Heath, False, 48.
Rye, 42.
Slender False, 33.
Smooth, 23.
Soft, 19.
Upright Annual, 48.
Js Perennial, 48.
.Canary-grass, Common, 46.
Reed, 29.
Catstail, Alpine, 50.
Common, 23.
Purple-stalked, 48.
Seaside, 37.
Cocksfoot, Rough, 20.
Cord-grass, Many-spiked, 41.
Twin-spiked, 41.
Couch, Common, 45.
Fibrous or Wood, 34.
Sea, 35.
Cut-grass, European, 31.
Darnel, Annual, 43.
Dogstail, Rough, 39-
Crested, 21.
Dogstooth-grass, Creeping, 38.
Fescue, Ambiguous, 47.
Barren, 47.
Creeping, 36.
Great Bearded, 32.
Hard, 20.
Meadow, 22.
Mousetail, 47.
Sheep’s, 24.
Single-glumed, 38.
Tall, 30.
Wood, 35:
Finger-grass, Cocksfoot, 44.
Snooth, 49.
Q2
Foxtail, Alpine, 50.
Floating, 28.
Meadow, Ig.
Orange-anthered, 31.
Slender, 42.
Tuberous, 41.
Hair-grass, Alpine, 49.
Crested, 27
Early, 47.
Grey, 38.
Silvery, 47.
Tufted, 29.
Wavy, 25.
Hard-grass, Sea, 40.
Hare's-tail, Ovate, 39.
Heath-grass, Decumbent, 25.
Holy-grass, Northern, 50.
Lyme-grass, Sea, 36.
Marram, 35.
Mat-grass, 24.
Meadow-grass, Alpine, 49.
‘Annual, 45.
Bulbous, 36.
Flat-stemmed, 47.
Roughish, 21.
Smooth, 19. ,
Straight-stemmed, 50.
Wavy, 49.
Wood, 34.
Melic, Nodding, 34.
Purple, 25.
Wood, 33.
Millet, Spreading, 33.
Moor-grass, Blue, 27.
INDEX
Nit-grass, Awned, 38.
Oat, Bristle-pointed, 43.
Downy, 26.
False, 45.
Smooth, narrow-leaved, 26
Wild, 42.
Yellow, 22.
Panic-grass, Loose, 44.
Quaking-grass, Common, 24.
Small, 44.
Reed, Common, 30.
Rye-grass, Italian, 43.
Perennial, 20.
Sand-grass, Early, 39.
Sea-reed, Baltic, 36.
Common, 35.
Small-reed, Narrow, 31.
Purple-flowered, 31.
Wood, 34.
Soft-grass, Creeping, 32.
Meadow, 21.
Squirrel-tail Grass, 38.
Sweet-grass, Borrer’s, 41.
Creeping Sea, 4o,
Dwarf, 37.
Floating, 28.
Hard, 47.
Procumbent, 41.
Reedy, 30.
Reflexed, 37.
Timothy-grass, 23.
Vernal-grass, Puel’s, 24.
Sweet-scented, 18,
Whorl-grass, Water, 30.
W. Brendon and Son, Limited, Plymouth
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11