Panicum viride. Green Panic Grass.
PANICUM Lin. Gern PI. T riandria Di'gynia.
Cal. 3-valyis: valvula tertia nfinitnä.
RaiiSyn. Gen. 27. Herbje graminifolüe flore imperfeGto cuLMifrfiRjE»
PANICUM viride fpica tereti, involucellis bifloris fafciculato-pilofis, feminibus nervofis. Lin. Syß.
Vegetab. p. 502. Sp. PI. p. 83.
PANICUM fpica unica, flofculis feffilibus folitariis, fetis numerofis. Haller» Hiß. n. i.542.
GRAMEN paniceum Ipica fimplici. Bauh. Pin. 8.
GRAMEN panici effigie fpica fimplici» Ger. eniac. 17..
GRAMEN paniceum fpica fimplici kevi. Raii Syn. p» 393. Panic-Graf3, with a fingle fmooth eah
Hudfon Fl. Angl. ed. 2. p. 24»
RADIX annua, fibrofa.
CULMI ere£H,~ pedales et ultra, fimplices, fubinde
ramofi, quatuor aut quinque geniculis diftin&i.
læves.
FOLIA palmaria et ultra, lineas duas, très» quatüorve
.qüandoque lata, acuminata, lævia, ad mar-
gines afpera, in apricis fæpe fanguinea ; folio -
rum Vagina ftriata, lævis, ad internam folio-
rum bafin, loco membranulæ in pilos fubti-
liffimos lineam dimidiam aut paulo plus longos
. terminatæ, qui pili etiam quandoque vaginae
margines fupremas ipfiquë foliorum bafi proxi-
mas occupant.
SPICA fimplex, teres, cylindraceà, uiicialis, fefqui-
, ùncialis et ultra, crafîîtie peunæ anferinæ ma-
joris, aliquando to ta fpadicea vel atro-pur-
purea, alias ex viridi lutefcens, luteis pilis, aliquando
rubris donata, denfe eoagmentatis confisais
fpiculisj molliufcula, veftibus nequa-
quam adhærens ; fetæ feu pili plurimi, erecti,
tortuofi, flofculis triplo longiores, ad’ lentem
.aculeati, aculeis eredis. fig. 1. 2*
CALYX \ Gluma Unifiera, trivalvis, valyulis duâbus '
oppofitis, æqualibus, ovatis,..obtufis, nervofis, :
Jg. 4. tertia minima, inferne pofita. fig. 3. :
ROOT annual, and fibrous.
STALKS upright, a foot high or more* fimple, now and
then branched, furnifhed with four or five
joints, and fmooth»
LEAVES about a hand’s breadth or mote in length, two
or three lines, and fometimes more, in breadth,
. pointed, fmooth, rough oh the edges, in open
fituations often of a blood-red colour; Sheath
Of the leavesT firiated, fmooth, terminated at
, the inner bafe of the leaf, infiead of a membrane,
by very fine hairs, about half a line or
• fomewhat more in length, which fometimes alfo
occupy the edges of the fheath on its upper
part, and of the leaves at their bale.
SPIKE fimple, round, cylindrical, an inch, an inch
and a half or more in length, the thick-
nefs of a large goofe quill, fometimes wholly1
of a reddifh purple colour, at others greenifh
yellow, furnifhed with yellowifh, and forne-
times reddifh hairs, compofed of fpiculze clofely
- compared, foft to the touch, never adhering
to garments; fetas or hairs numerous, • upright,-
crooked, thrice the length of the flofcules,
when magnified furnifhed with fmalf prickles,
which are,upright, fig. 1. 2.
CALYX : a Glums of one flower, and three valves, two
of which, are oppofite, equal, ovate, obtufe,
and ribbed, fig. 4. the third is very minute,
• • | and placed below the others, fig. 3.
COROLLA : bivalvis, valvuke ovatas, concavas, nitid*, | COROLLA compofed of two valves,'which are ovate
QT'fli\/mvT^;l^ae5 Ua^eS,‘>^ ' ' I hollow, fhining, and nearly equal. 5.
0 I AMINA : F ilament a tria, capillaria, breviffima, f STAMINA: three capillary Filaments, very fhort, a
eorollam paulo excedentia. A nthers mi-1 little longer than the corolla. A nthers very
Ptqttt t ’PurPureffi- fig' 6- | fmall, and purple, fig. 6. 1 lbTILLUM: Germen ovatum. St y li duo, capib $ PISTILLUM: Germen ovate. St y i .es two, capil-
| S |H SH® Stigmata plumofa, alba. fig. 7. | lary. Stigmata feathery and white, fig. 7.
0H.MEN unicum, fubovatum, tedium, hinc convexum, f SEED fingle, fomewhat ovate, covered, convex, and
obfolete nervofilm, inde planiufculum. fig. 8. | faintly ribbed on one fide, on the other flatthh. ■ 1 m g m
; . In a former part of this work we gave figures of the Panicum crufgalli and fanguina/e i we here prefent our'
readers with two more, being the whole of this genus growing near London.
The viride is with us the moft common of the four; yet at a diftance from town it appears to have few habitats.
U » W t y » particularizes Martha's Chapel near Guildford; Baterfea Fields is the only place where we find this, and
the others, all of which flower about the fame period, viz. Augufi and September.
0 correfpond with its name, the viride fhould be always of a green colour ; but we often find its foliage red,
[and its fpikes reddifh-brown, and the yerticillatum vice verfa : we are not therefore to look for. an infallible guide in
‘is c° our, Lut-the fpike will always diftinguifh it from the verticil latum. Between thefe two, indeed, there is a
| more ieniible difference to the touch than betwixt the Alopecurus pratenfis and Phleum pratenfe j the hairs In the
I]1' . , thle much longer than thole of the verticillatmn, and though the microlcope discovers them to
prickly, vid.fig. x. 2. yet theie being upright difcover no manifeft rotighnels.
Agriculturally it may be confidered rather as a weed than an ufeful grafs.
are remarkably fond of its feeds: the whole of this genus, when cultivated in a garden, require to be
■ protected from them. * ^