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Show ~o6 'Phe Hiflory rf P L A N T S. ~- Briza panicula Jpicata, Jticis lanceolatis.. 1!.obe· The Jpike-panicled Briza, wtth lan.ceolated fptkes. <15taf£'. The root of this beautiful grafs is formed of a number of fmall ~bres, conne~ed at h · k' d f head ~ from this arife eight or ten leaves, which are four tnches, t e top m~o alengmth oand ab~ut a fifth of an inch broad, and of a whitiili-green co- 1o r more, m , ·~ . fi h' h d · d I the midft of thefe rifes the fialk ; It grows to be a oot Ig , an IS mo e .. r~~;iy t~ck, and ufually has two joints : at each joint is :" leaf, :the bafe of which makes a kind of vagina, furrounding the fialk, and fr.om ~1s part It grows loo(e to an inch or two only in length, and is narrower than the rad1cal leaves. At the to~ of the fialk fiand a number of glumes, e.xtreamly beautiful, three quarters of an mch )ong, and of a bright white colour. They refemble the glumes of the. ~ommon gramen tremulum in iliape, but they are affixed to confiderably firong and ng1d fialks, not fuch ~eJlder ones as they are. . . Tpis fpecies is no~ m~frequent in France, ~er~any, a~d lt~ly, but we ha.ve It .not m England. c. Bauhine calls it, Gramen pamcuhs elegantiffimts five eragrofhs maJor. {) N I 0 L A. T I;J E calyx of tl)e U niola contains feveral flowers, and is compofed of fix valves laid together in a diftichous, imbricated manner. They are fubulated, or nearly of that figure, compreiied, navicular, and carinulated ; one of them iliuts the ?ther, and the laft pair contains a fpike of an oval, fomewh~t cot;npreiied figure, With an acute edge, a11d containing fevt:ral flowers. The corolla IS a bivalve Plume : the valves are of a lanceolato-compreiied figure, like thofe of the cup, and the mner valve appears fomewhat higher than the outer on~. The ftamina are three capillary filaments : the antherre are oblong and linear. The germen is conic ; the fiyles are t~o, e~·eet a.nd fimple; the ftigmata are hoary. The corolla performs the office of a pencarpmm, m-clofing the feed, which is Jingle, and of an o~ated., ~blong ~gure. . . . . , Of this genus there is but one known fpec1es ; It IS fufficiently dtfimgmilied by 1t s charaCters, and needs no farther defcription. Plukenet has figured it, T. 32. f. 6. C Y N 0 S U R 'U S. T HE calyx of the Cynofums is a partial involucrum, large, triphyllous, and late~ ral : the foliole pennated and permanent. ·~ The glume is form~d of two valves, and contains fev#J:al flowers. Th.e valves are equal, linear, and acuminated. The c;orolla confifts of)wo valves; the exterior is the longer, and is hollowed and ariftated; the interior is lllorter, plane, and has no arifta. The fiamina are three capillary filaments ; the antherre are oblong; the germen is turbinated; the ftyles are two in number, villous and reflex ; the fiig~ata are fimple. The corolla. ferves the office of a perianthium, furrounding and covering the feed, w~ch is fingle, of an oblong figqre, and pointed at each end. I. Cynofurus ~raEieis pinnatifidis. The G.Jnofure, with pinnatifid braEiece. 'l'he Foot of thi~ fpecies confifis of a great number of flender, white fibres, collea~ ed into a head, and difperfing themfelves every way into the earth. From this rifes a clufier of fmallleaves, not more than two or three inches long, and very narrow; in !h.e midft of thefe rife.s a fialk .of two feet lrigh, very !lender, and jointed; at every J0111t ll-ands a leaf, which, after 1t has furrounded the ftalk.for fome inches in .form of a vagina, grows to two or three inches in length from it, , a~d is very narrow and pointed. T~e fialk ~s terminated by a. fpike of flowers of a peculiar figure; it is forrne.d of two fen<:s .of. cnftated and fimbnated. glumes, turning the fame way ; it is an mch and a half m length, and about a fifth of an inch in thicknefs i it.'s cblour is a brownilhgreen . . This fpecies i~ freq.uent in our meadows and paftures. C. Bauhine calls it, Gratnel}l cnflatum five fptca cnftata lrevi, J. Bauhine, Gram en criftatum. Parkinfon, Gramen criftatum Tbe Hijlory of P L A N T s. criO:atum Anglicum. A variety of this is defcribed by C. Bauhine alfo under the name of a different fpecies, wifh a hairy fpike. ' ' 2. Cynofurus fpicis quaternis terminatrici6us horizontali!Jus. Tbe Cynrfure wltb four horizontal, terminatory /pikes. <!tock'.S::; jfoot Q5rafs~ The root of this fpecies is white, creeping, and of a fweet tafie : from this rife at two different feafons of the ~ear~ ~w6 kinds of ftal~s and .leaves. In the fpring it produces a number of long, flex1le, JOinted fialks, wh1ch tratl upon 'the ground, and take root at th'e knots ; from thefe joints, oppofite to the roots, there rife clufl:ers of lhort; hairy leaVes, furround ing one a~other: in the fummer it produces other fl:alks, which are ereCt, and grow t? a foot high; ~~efe are flender, jointed, and have, at every joint, a fingle leaf, furroundmg the ftalk at Its bafe, .and afterwards hairy, but iliort and narrow. The top of the fialk is terminated by a number of fpikes, ufually four, femetimes five or fix; they are iliort, narrow, and imbricated. This fpecies is extremely common in France, Italy, and Spain, but it is not a native of England. C. Bauhine calls it, Gram~n dactylon folio arundinaceo majus. 3. Cynofurus pan_icula .fecunda glomerata. The glomerated-panicled Cynofurus. ~nrn ~ea~ nolb <5raf.G'. The root of this fpecies is compofed of a few thick, white fibres: from this rife fix or eight leaves, of a pale greyiili-green, five inches long, a fifth of an inch broad, and very rough to the touch. Among thefe rifes a fialk, a fdot and a half high, round) jointed, moderately thick, and furniilied with a leaf at every joint, like the radical leaves, but lhorter, very rough to the touch, and embracing the fialk at it's bafe, in form of a vagina. The top of the fialk fupports a panicle, formed of three parts, conglomerated at top, and alfo harlh to the touch, an inch and a half long, and of a browniili, or reddiili, colour. This fpecies is very f requent in our meadows, and difcovers itfelf to the touch by it's roughnefs. C. Bauhine calls it, Gramen fpicatum folio afpero; Lrefelius, Gramen pratenfe fpica compacta divulfa. B RoM Us. T HE calyx of the Bromus is a bivalve, patent glume, containing feveral flowers, colleCted into an oblong, oval fpike. The valves are of an ovate-oblong figure, pointed, but without awns, and the under one is fmaller than the other. The corolla confifis of two valves; the lower one is the larger; it is of the fize and figure of the cup, hollow, obtnfe, and, below it's point, it emits a ftrait arifia; above the infertion ~f this arifl:a it is bifid: the upper valve is fmaU, of a lanceolated figure, and has no anfia: the ftamina are three capillary filaments, iliorter than the flower: the antherre are oblong: the germen of the pill:il is turbinated: the flyles are two; they are iliort, refl.ex, and villofe: the ftigmata are fimple: the corolla ferv:es the office of a pericarpium; it iliuts clofe over the feed, and covers it every way. The feed is fingTe and oblong, convex on the one fide, and hollowed on the· other. . This genus comprehends the Fefiuca of Scheuchzer, and the lEgilops of Dillenius. 1. Bromus ·panicula nutante, Jpiculis ovato-oblongis. Tbe bending-panicled Bromus, wilh ovato-oblong /pikes. The root of this fpecies is compofed of a great number of flender, white fib res, variouOy interwoven with one another. From this arife twenty or thirty leaves, each £ve or fix' inches long, and more than a quarter of an inch broad : they are of a pale green, .and hairy at .the edge~. In ~he midfi of thefe is a ll:alk, and, as this grows up, the radical le~v~s wtt.her : this fl:alk ts, when fu.ll.grown, two or three feet high, very flender, and JOinted m five or fix places; the(e JOmts have each a leaf,. furroundi ng the fialk at.it's bale, and growing-to four or five inches in length from ' it, fomewhat broad, an~ pomted at the end. At the top fiands a large, diffufe panicle, the feveral parts of which hang on long, and very flender, filaments. C. Bauhine calls this, Feftuca avem cea fi erilis elatior; J. Bauhine, l:Egilops forte Matthioli. 2. Bromus |