British grasses : an introduction to the study of the Gramineae of Great Britain and Ireland / by Margaret Plues.

  • Plues, Margaret.
Date:
1867
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: British grasses : an introduction to the study of the Gramineae of Great Britain and Ireland / by Margaret Plues. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    stems soon float, and the first joints repose on or in the water; then the culm arises in an erect position, at a blunt angle from one of the bending joints, and proceeds to develope first leaves and then the panicle. The an- thers are of so rich an orange colour that the flowering spikes form no mean orna- ment to the margin of the pond,mingling and contrast- ing with other water-weeds. This is never a tall grass, and yet its stems often mea- sure a great length. For some distance it is always procumbent, and when it begins to affect an ascend- iug habit, it only alters its position by slow degrees, and many bends of the knee- like joints. This grass is not useful for cattle, nor are we able to cite any edible or industrial uses to which it may be ap- plied. It is common in every part of Britain. We have found it floating at the edges of peat bogs on the lofty moorlands, and in swamps in the low country, on inun- dated ground in the Lizard district of Cornwall, and in similar positions in the Western Isles of Scotland. It prevails also in Lapland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, and Italy; but Dr. Parnell says it is rare in the United States. It flowers in June, and seeds in July.