Flora Medica

GRAMINACE.E.1293. T. vulgare VilL delph. ii. 153. Host. gram.iii. 18.t. 26. Kunthgram. 438. T. hybernum et aestivum Linn. spec.126. In the country of the Baschkirs. (Wheat.)Spike 4-cornered, imbricated, with a tough rachis. Spikelets generally4-flowered. Glumes ventricose, ovate, truncate, mucronate, compressedbelow the apex, round and convex at the back, with a prominentnervure. Flowers awned or awnless. Grains loose. Admitted intothe last edition of the London Pharmacopeia, as the source of starch.HORDEUM.Spikelets S together, the lateral ones usually withered,2- flowered, with an intermediate floret reduced to a subulaterudiment. Glumes 2, lanceolate-linear, with subulate awns,flattish, unequal-sided, at right angles with the palese, almost onone side, and that the outer side, herbaceous, rigid. Paleae 2,herbaceous ;the lower one concave, ending in an awn, the upperbicarinate. Stamens 3.Ovary hairy at the apex. Stigmas 2,sessile, somewhat terminal, feathery. Scales 2, entire, or furnishedwith a lateral lobe, usually hairy or ciliated. Caryopsishairy at the point, oblong, furrowed on the inside, adhering tothe paleae, rarely naked. Kunth.1294. H. vulgare Linn. sp. pi. 125. Host. iii.gram.t. 34.Kunth. agrost. 455. Mesopotamia, Chesney. (Barley.)All the florets hermaphrodite and awned. Grains arranged in4 rows. Stems erect. Scales fringed with hairs. Admitted as anofficinal plant, chiefly because pearl-barley, which is barley deprived ofits integuments, is found in various preparations to afford a light foodfor the sick chamber.SECALE.Spikelets 2-flowered. Florets sessile, distichous, with thelinear rudiment of a third terminal one. Glumes 2, herbaceous,keeled, nearly opposite, awnless or awned. Paleae 2, herbaceous ;the lower one awned at the point, keeled, and unequal sided,broadest and thickest on the outer side the ;upper shorter andbicarinate. Stamens 3.Ovary pyriform, pilose. Stigmas 2,subsessile, terminal, feathery, with long simple finely toothedhairs. Scales 2, entire, ciliated. Caryopsis hairy at the pointand loose. Kunth.1295. S. cereale Linn. sp. pi 124. Host. ii.gram.t. 48.Kunth. agrost. 449. The Caucasico-Caspian desert. The Crimeaand the banks of the Volga. (Rye.)Stems in a wild state rarely more than a foot high; in cultivation2 feet high and more. Lower leaves, together with their sheaths,covered with a soft down. Rachis bearded on each side with whitehairs. Glumes subulate, ciliated, scabrous, shorter than the floretstaken together with their awns. Outer paleae folded up, keeled,3-nerved, with very long awns ;the 2 nerves and awns very rough.610