Grasses, Sedges, Rushes and Ferns of the British Isles

GRASSES, SEDGES, RUSHES AND FERNS OF THE BRITISH ISLES - By N. BARRIE HODGSON - CONTENTS PAGE - GRASSES Grafninee - - - - - 7 SEDGES Cypeaced - - - - - - 35 RUSHES Jzincrace - - - - - - 60 FERN S Pteridolytec - - - - - 67 HORSETAILS Eqzkretum - - - - - 83 CLUB-hIOSSES Lyopodiztnj - - - - 88 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS GRASSES Sweet Vernal. Green Panick. Spreading Millet. Timothy. Slender Fox-tail. Meadow Fox-tail. Floating Fox-tail. Fiorin. Brown Bent. Tufted Hair. Silvery Hair. Early Hair. Perennial Oat. Wild Oat. False Oat. Yellow Oat. Upright Sea Lymegrass. Meadow Soft. Creeping Soft. Matgrass. Meadow Barley. Wild Barley. Squirrel-tail. Couch. Darnel. Fibrous-rooted Wheat. Hairy Brome. Upright Brome. Soft Brome. Barren Brome. Common Rye. Sheeps Fescue. Tall Brome. Hard Meadow. Barren Fescue. Cocks-foot. Crested Dogs-tail. Meadow Fescue. Common Quaking. Smooth-stalked Meadow. Reed Meadow. Floating Meadow. Sea Meadow. Annual Meadow. Wood Meadow. Water Whorl. Bulbous Meadow. Decumbent Heath. Common Reed. Roughish Meadow. Flattened Meadow. SEDGES Black Bog-rush. Marsh Club. Hares-tail Cotton-grass. White Beak. Floating Club Rush. Common Bulrush. Sea Club Rush. Great Panicled Sedge. Flea Sedge. Sand Sedge. Round-headed Sedge. Fox Sedge. Yellow Sedge. Common Cotton-grass. Cyperus-like Sedge. Great Marsh Sedge. Great Pendulous Sedge. Lesser Marsh Sedge. Loose Sedge. Pendulous Wood Sedge. RUSHES Soft Rush. Hard Rush. Common Rush. Great Sharp Sea Rush. Lesser Sharp Sea Rush. Jointed Rush. Field Woodrush. Great Hairy Woodrush. Heath Rush. Common Hairy Woodrush. FERNS Maidenhair. Bracken. Hard Fern. Sea Spleenwort. Maidenhair Spleenwort. Wall Rue. Black Spleenwort. Holly-fern. Scaly Spleenwort. Broad Buckler. Male Fern. Lady Fern. Common Polypody. Royal Fern. Mountain Buckler. Harts-tongue. Adders-tongue. Moonwort. HORSETAILS AND CLUB-MOSSES PLATE 17. Rough Horsetail. Great Horsetail. Field Horsetail. Marsh Horsetail. Wood Horsetail. Common Club-moss. Alpine Club-moss. Marsh Club-moss. Prickly Club-moss. Page Six -- GRASSES -- THERE exists no family of plants which are produced so abundantly as those known to us as Grasses, for their presence is much in evidence everywhere, covering the surface of our Islands with the familiar green carpet, whether it be on mountainside, in meadows, pastures or fields, on every piece of waste land and along roadsides, clothing the moors of the North to the Downs of the Southern Counties. Because Grasses are the hardiest of the British Flora they are able to flourish in situations where few other forms of vegetation could exist, and were it not for this fact, the countryside would indeed be bare and colourless. Economically, Grasses rank the highest in the vegetable kingdom to the agriculturalist, being essential for the maintenance of cattle, sheep and horses, both in the fresh green state and also when dried in the form of hay for winter feeding they are, therefore, cultivated extensively to meet this demand and, in consequence, we have vast acreages of luscious meadows containing very many species seen to perfection in May and June before the tall stems and stately flower-heads fall to the mowing machines to be dried and stacked, Grasses also constitute one of the most vital commodities for the sustenance of man himself, for the seeds are highly nutritious and, when cultivated, produce the foundation of mans essential food, for our very familiar fields of barley, rye, wheat and oats are but highly cultivated examples of the wild grasses...