(a) Awn not terminal.
(1) Awn stout, either obviously twisted and bent or “kneed."
(i) “Seed" consisting of the glumes as well as paleæ investing the caryopsis[13].
⊙ Awn bent but not twisted; glumes free below, ribbed, and with stiff short hairs on the keel.
≡ Awn sub-terminal, shorter than the palea, hooked.
Holcus lanatus.
"Yorkshire Fog," of little use or importance, except that it is frequently found as an impurity of other hairy grasses—e.g. Alopecurus.
It cannot easily be confounded with any other grass: Anthoxanthum and Alopecurus, Arrhenatherum, &c. present superficial resemblances only.
These glumed hairy “seeds" are uncommon and form an easily recognised type.
Fig. 65. Holcus lanatus. a, “seed"—i.e. complete spikelet—and ditto devoid of glumes, nat. size; b, spikelet, and c the same devoid of glumes, × 7. The “seed" is here composed of the keeled glumes enclosing two pairs of paleæ and their flowers (c): the upper of these is barren and has a hooked sub-terminal awn to its outer palea. The lower awnless one is fertile. Nobbe.
Holcus lanatus, L. (Fig. [65]).
The “seed" consists of the complete spikelet, separated below the compressed and acute, keeled glumes; these have hairs on the keel, and completely enclose the two flowers and their paleæ. Palea ribless, white to grey, shining, obtuse, that of the upper (male) flower with a sub-terminal short hook-like awn. Total length about 4-5 mm. Caryopsis oblong-ovate, grooved. In its palea about 2-3 mm. long and with a few hairs at the base.