AGROSTIS SETACEA. { Agros. alpina, Withering.
I. Agros. canina, 2 d var. Hudson?
Bristle-leaved Bent.
Spec. Char. Calÿx with both valves serrated in the upper partj corolla with an arista,
and hairy at the base 3 leaves like bristles.
Agrostis setacea possesses such strong characteristics, that it is the most readily distinguished of
any o f the genus, and enables us to form a good specific character. The leaves are singularly fine,
and in dry seasons have a very glaucous hue, and are harsh and rough, arising in tufts from the root,
about one-fourth the height of the straw, but growing among bushes, they often attain to about
half the height o f the plant: towards autumn- trailing branches are sometimes thrown out from the
base. As animal food the bristly Bent claims a very low rank, growing in dry and heathy
places (though veiy far from being universal), it supplies a portion of provender to the nibbling
sheep that frequent its stations, but by its rigid nature is not welcome to them; yet the animals
which browse on the scanty vegetation of the arid heaths in some parts of Devonshire,* where this
Agrostis abounds, crop it promiscuously, perhaps more from necessity than inclination.-______We
have no grass that forms naturally so delightful a turf as Agrostis setacea; its peculiar green may
not perhaps be admired, but to the feet nothing is more pleasing, and it seems invariably to keep
itself neat, nor requires the constant attention o f the gardener; but we are apprehensive that it
would not be eligible as a garden turf; the scythe, if there should be occasion to use it, would hardly
touch the leaves, and if mown too close, its brown sheathing would be disagreeable to the eye.
A, the Calyx.
B, valves of the Corolla.
C, the larger valve o f the Corolla enlarged, representing its notches.
* On all the heathy furzy land about Dawlish, and Teignmouth, it is plentiful.