BROMUS S E C A L ltfU S .{ f« n ,A.,
Corn Broom-grass.
Spe c . Ch a r . Several branches issuing from a stage, supporting one or several spiculæ; spiculæ
with eight or twelve florets, greatly expanded in maturity ; calyx and corolla smooth in age.
B romus secalinus is a plant as strongly marked as any in the genus, and yet has by no means been
rightly understood ; in a young state it may admit o f some hesitation, but in maturity it is easily
detected. Straw with several joints ; leaves a little hairy on the inner side, and often with à slight
portion of wool on the outer, which soon wears off, and the leaf is left smooth and shining. Panicle
erect when young, and the spiculæ lanceolate and closed, but in maturity it becomes pendent, and
the florets are so much expanded that the rachis of the spicula is rendered visible. There is a great
similarity in their young state between Bromus secalinus and B. arvensis, but in maturity the similitude
ceases : a botanist acquainted with the habits o f the two plants easily distinguishes them, but a good
criterion will be found in the leaves; in B. arvensis the foliage is woolly on both sides, in B. secalinus
the under side is nearly smooth : the calyx and corolla o f the arvensis being coloured, will likewise
often indicate the plant, but this is far from being an invariable distinction 5 the calyx of B. secalinus,
when young, as well as the corolla, are rough, and the keel of both o f them have some spines towards
the summit j and we have often observed the spiculæ instead of being straight, as in the other species
of the genus, are frequently bent, or assuming a kind of crescent-like form.------ Tt is probable that
Mr. Hudson saw this B. secalinus in an advanced state, and then considered it as the B. squarrosus
of Linnaeus, which species we fancy has not been found indigenous in England.------ This Bromus is
an inhabitant of com fields, preferring those in a light or stony soil, and it seems more particularly
to attach itself to wheat : it often attains the height o f four feet, which stature, and its heavy loaded
panicle, are sufficient to render it manifest.--------- It is singular that so little attention should have
been paid to this species, as to induce Mr. Hudson and Dr. Withering to consider B. secalinus as a
variety only of B. mollis ! and the editors of that great work the Encyclopèdiè Méthodique continue
some observations oh B. mollis, by saying, f Nous ne craignons pas d’assurer, d’apres nos propres
observations, que le B. secalinus, et le B. mollis, de Linné sont des varieties, d’une seule espèce,
quoiqu’il soit souvent facile de les distinguer.’
A, the Calyx.
B, the rachis o f a Spicula.
C, the Corolla.