'à
ill
p iiu
If , i
\ i ‘ ‘
iii!
u
H fi
? i - r
late scarioso-maigmatis superiore latiore 3-nervi, lioscuHs basi remotiusculis, p d e a irferiore ob.scui-e puberula
m aristam brevem producta, culmis graciUimis folium lineaii-filiforme involutum superautibus.
H.ab. Strait of Magalhaens ; P o rt Famine, Capt. King.
fibrosa, nunc repeus? C'a?«* 3-pedales, graduimi, erecti, læves, nitidi. * ? « , 1-U-pedaHa. P„„io„,a
sub a-une. longa, 6-S-flora. Locustæ A ad f poUicm-es, Glumæ latiusculæ, concavæ. non carinatæ. inferior 1-ncrvis
supeuor latior. 3-nems. Paleæ Uneares, inferior sursimi pubenda, aiista breviuscnla recta auetæ; superior requi-’
longa bifida,—Species elongata, graciUima. priori simülima. sed elatior, foUis longioribus. locustis majoribus riiimis
pluriflons lationbusque differt.
A rery elegant species, alUed to the former ; but. judging from my specimens, distinct, especiaUy in the form of
Its glumes ; although m Bntish examples of P. rubra that organ vai-ics much m breadth and the locustæ in size.
in. Mém.9. F e s t u c a Linn., 109. K n g l .B o t . t . l i l i . B ' 1110:1110 i Soe. l i n n . Paris,
vol.iv. p. 601.
H ab. Falkland Islands, found only near tlie settlement, B ’Uroille, ■/. B . H.
Apparently identical with the European plant, aud most probably introduced.
10. F e s tu c a y a y c fW ® , Lamk., vol, ii. p .4 6 1 . B ’ Uroille,in Mém.
0. U r n . P a n s , vol. iv. p. 601. Brong. m Buperrey, Toy. Bo t. p. 3S. Kunth, Kn. P la n t, vol. i, p. 306.
Var. ft. culmo elongato, foliis glaberrimis.
H a b . S tm t of Magalliaens, Commeison-, Falkland Islands, on rocks near the sea, B 'U ro ille I B E
V ar. P o rt Famine, X te /. , •
The var, ft from Port Famine, is almost identical with Austrian specimens of P. pollens. Host., and it comes
very nrar some Bntish states of P. dnnuscuU. apparently differing chiefly by the membranous margins of the sheaths
^ the leaves. M a u d Island specimens vary considerably in stature and in the size of their locust® ; the i
IS \ery ngid in aU, though more or less pubescent in different specimens.
11 F e s tu c a erecta, D’UrviUe, m Mém. Soc. U n n . Paris, vol. iv. p. 601. Brongniart, in
Toy. Bot. p. 37. t. 7. Kunth, Kn. P la n t, vol. i. p. 398.
lAiéZZÌÌZT
Variable in the comparative length of the leaves and stem, as also in size, bnt otherwise a wcU-markcd species.
14. DACTYLIS, L .
1. D a c t iu s cespitosa, Forst., in Comm. Goett. vol. ix. p. 22. IFilld. Sp. PI. vol. i, p. 407 Hook fil
,n Xond. Journ o f Bo t. vol. ii. p. 298. t. 9 and 10, Festuca omspitosa, Boern. et Sch. Syst. Teg. vol.ii, p. 7 8 2 '
Ku n th E n PU n t. vol. 1. p. 408. F. flabeUata, Larnk. Encycl. vol. ii. p. 462. Gaud, in Ann. Se. Na t. vol. v
p. 1 0 0 , e t i n P r ^ c . Voy Bot. p. 409. B ’ Uro. in Mém. Soc. L in n . Paris, vol, iv. p. 603. Brongniart in
uperrey Toy. B ot. p. 36. “ Glayeux,” Pernetty, Yoy. vol. i. p. 343. (Ta b . CXXXVI.—CXXXVII.)
H ^ . Sriait of Magalhaens, Commerson-, and throughout Fu eg ia ; Staten Land, Forster-, Hermite
Island, Cape Horn, B . H.-, FaUdand Islands, most ahundant, Gaudichaud, and aU subsequent voyagers.
Though much has lately been written in the ‘ .tournai of Botany ’ upon this plant, the famous Tussock Grass
of the Falkland Islands, it appears advisable to sum up here the principal facts connected wnth its history.
Commerson was doubtless the discoverer of it in the Strait of Magalhaens, in 1767, and it has been gatbercd
in Fuegia by several succeeding voyagers; bnt as it nowhere forms so conspicuous a feature as m the Falkland
Islands, it is most appropriately considered in reference to tliem alone.
A French colony was established on the Falklands, by Admiral Bougainville, in 1766, wben cattle and horses
were landed, whicli, no doubt, soon manifested a predilection for this noble grass. Pernetty, the historiographer
ot the Voyage, in describing the remarkable plants of those Islands, alludes partienlariy to it under the name of
Glaycnl ” ■ but it was not until the recent colonization of the Falklands by the British that attention was particularly
directed to the Tussock, in consequence of accounts forwarded to the Colonial Office by Governor Moody, and
to tbe Admiralty by tbe Antarctic Expedition.
The peculiar mode of growth of DaclyUs cæspitosa enables it to thrive in pure sand, and near the sea, where it
has the benefit of an atmosphere loaded with moisture, of soil enriched by decaying sea-weeds, of manure, which
is composed in the Ealkland Islands of an abundant supply of animal matter in the form of Gnano, and of the
excrements of various birds, who deposit their eggs, rear their young, and find a habitation amongst tbe groves of
Tussock. Its general locality is on the edges of those pcat-bogs whieh approach the shore, when it contributes
considerably to the formation of peat. Though not universal along tbe coast of these Islands, the quantity is st
prodigious for it is always a gregarious grass, extending in patches sometimes for nearly a mile, but seldom
seen e°xcept ivithin tbe influence of the sea air. This predüeetion for the ocean does not arise from an incapacity
to oTow and thrive except close to the salt water, bnt because other plants, not suited to the sca-shore. already
cover the ground in more inland locatties, and prcvaU over it ; I have scon the Tussock on inaccessible clffis in
the interior, having been brongl.t there by the birds and afterwards manured by them ; and, when cidtivated, it
thrives both in the Falklands and in England, far from the sea.
I know of no grass likely to yield nearly so gi-eat an amount of nourishment as the Tussock, when thoroughly
established ■ in proof of which I quote my friend Governor Moody’s printed report, for the truth of whieh I can
vouch, both from my own experience and from his having kindly given me ample means for judging of the correctness
of Ills interesting and usefid observations, wben drawing up the report from which the foUowmg extract is made.
■■Duriinr several long rides into the country I have always found the Tussock flom-ishing most rigorously in
snots exposed to the sea, and 011 soU unfit for any other plant, viz. the rankest pcat-bog, black or red. I t is wonderful
to observe the beaten foot-paths of the wild cattle and horses, marked like a foot-track across fields in England,
extendino- for miles over barren moor-huid, bnt always terminating in some point or peninsula covered with this
favouriteTocldcr ; amid whieh, one is almost certain to meet with solitary old biiUs, or perhaps a herd of cattle;
very likely a troop of wild horses, just trotting off as they scent the coming stranger from afar. To cultivate the
Tussock reass I should recommend that its seeds be sown in patches, just below tbe surface of tbe earth and at
instances of about two feet apart ; it must afterwards be weeded out, for it gi-ows very luxuriantly, frequently attaining
-I heio-lit of sLx 01- seven feet. It should not be grazed, but cut or reaped iu bundles. If cut. it quickly shoots
arain“ but is much injui-ed by grazing ; for aU animals, especially pigs, tear it np to get at the sweet nntty-flavourcd
réots I have not tried how it would be relislicil if made into bay, but cattle will eat the dri- thatch oil the roof
of a house in winter ; their preference to Tussock grass being so great that they scent it a considerable distance
and use every effort to get at it. Some bundles, which had been stacked in the yard at the back ot Government
House, were quickly detected, and the cattle in tbe village made, every night, repeated attempts to reach them,
which occasioned great trouble to the sentry on duty.”
Since tbe above was written, the Tussock has been used abundantly when made into hay, being preferred by
cattlc even to the green state of any of the other excellent grasses in the Falklands. Governor Moody informs
me that in his garden it grows rapidly and improves by cutting.