Fig. 280.—The Dog’s-tooth Grass
Fig. 281.—The Reed Canary Grass
The Sea Cat’s-tail Grass (Phleum arenarium) is common on many coasts. It is much smaller than the common species of Cat’s-tail, being generally less than a foot high. The spike is of an elongated oval form, blunt at the tip and narrow at the base; and the glumes are narrow, pointed at both ends, and fringed. Each spikelet has but one flower.
In salt marshes we occasionally meet with the Perennial Beard Grass (Polypogon littoralis), but it is somewhat rare. It has a creeping root, and the flowers form a somewhat dense spike-like panicle. The glumes have a slender awn. It grows to a height of one to two feet, and flowers in July.
The Tuberous Fox-tail Grass (Alopecurus bulbosus) is another rare grass of the salt marshes, where it grows to the height of twelve to sixteen inches, flowering in May and June. The genus to which it belongs is very closely allied to Phleum, but may be distinguished by having only one pale to each flower, and this species has a long awn attached to the back portion. The panicle, too, is cylindrical and slender, the glumes quite free and abruptly pointed, and the awns longer than the pales.
The last of the sea-side grasses are two rare species of Cord Grass (Spartina), both of which are found in salt marshes. In these the inflorescence is a compound spike, with one-sided spikelets inserted in a double row. The glumes are keeled and pointed; the pales cleft, pointed and without awns; and the styles two in number, very long. The only British species of the genus are the two (S. stricta and S. alternifolia) referred to above. They both grow to a height of about eighteen inches, and flower in late summer. In the former the spikes number two or three, and are longer than the leaves; and the outer glume is hairy, with a single nerve. The latter, which is the rarer of the two, bears several spikes, shorter than the leaves; and the outer glume has five nerves.
Certain of the sedges (order Cyperaceæ) are also more or less familiar to the sea-side naturalist, and must therefore receive a small share of our attention. In general terms these are grasslike, monocotyledonous plants, the stems of which are solid, jointed, and frequently angular. The leaves are very similar to those of grasses, except that the sheaths, which surround the stem, are not split. The flowers are generally arranged in a spike, overlapping each other, and each one supported on a scale-like bract. In some sedges the flowers are perfect, each one possessing both stamens and pistil; but in some species the flowers are unisexual, some bearing stamens and no pistil, and others pistil only. The stamens are generally three in number, the ovary is superior, and the stigmas either two or three.
Sedges abound in moist places, some being peculiar to salt marshes, while others grows on sandy shores; and a few of the British species of the latter habitat are often so abundant that their creeping roots bind the sand together, effectually holding it in place while the surrounding portions of the beach are mercilessly driven by the wind.