ΔΔ Without creeping stolons. Stems and panicle slender, round. A shade-plant.
P. nemoralis, L.
The rarer species of Poa are P. bulbosa with the stems swollen below; P. alpina, also slightly bulbous and often viviparous; P. laxa an allied Highland species; and P. distans a maritime form allied to P. maritima (see p. [111]).
✲✲ Spikelets with awns or with sharp terminal points (awn-points) to the glumes or paleæ.
In some species and varieties of Festuca awns are not evident (see p. [116]): the hard paleæ simply end in acute or acuminate points, but these are sharp and in most cases much more so than in any Poa. When not so evident, the student will probably think the specimen is a Poa and the flora must be consulted.
The difficulty is most likely to occur with varieties of F. ovina and F. elatior: in the former the leaves are narrower, setaceous and stiffer than in any Poa. The ribbing of the leaf, the ligule, and other characters of the vegetative organs (see pp. [45] and [50]) will help in these doubtful cases.
† Awns terminal, or sub-terminal; often very short or nearly obsolete and the paleæ merely drawn out at the tips to a hard sharp awn-point.
⊙ Awns long and sub-terminal, inserted between the teeth of the cleft apex of the paleæ. Sheaths entire. Panicle usually nodding.
Bromus.
With the exception of Festuca Myurus and one or two other rare Fescues with setaceous leaves, Hordeum and Brachypodium are the only other genera with awns much resembling the Bromes. The former has a totally different inflorescence, and in the latter the spikelets are practically sessile (see p. [107]).
≡ Spikelets short and fat, and relatively heavy. Paleæ broad and distinctly nerved. Awns fine, about as long as the paleæ.