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Beam. Danthonia, Spreng. D. paUida, A. Cmn. Prodr. et llerh. non Br. Avena Forsteri, Kunth
Agrost. (Tab. LXVIII. B.)
H a b . Northern and Middle Islands; abundant as far south as Banks’ Peninsula, Banhs and So-
lander, etc.
A very elegant Grass, confined to New Zealand, as far as is bitherto known.— tufted, 1-2 feet long,
strict and erect, weaker in wooded localities, smooth, shining. Leaves narrow, setaceous or elongated, quite smooth
or rough to the touch. Panicle slender, erect, contracted or rather diffuse, always narrow ; branches short. Spikeleis
4 inch long, flat, white and glistening, three- or foui--flowered ; conspicuous for the reflexed awns. Glumes unequal,
acuminate, shorter than the florets, scabrid at the back. Pedicels of the florets short or long, with long white
scattered hairs. Lower palea scabrous, bifid, with a glabrous recurved awn ; twice as long as the floret.—Plate
LXVIII. B. Fig. 1, spikelet; 2, floret; 3, scale; 4, ovary;—all magnijied.
Obs. Trisetum suhspicatum. Pal. Beauv., a very common plant in all cold and mountainous countries of Europe,
Asia, and America, and also found in Tasmania, Fuegia, and in Campbell’s Islaud, probably grows ou the lofty
New Zealand mountains : it has a dense spiked panicle, aud generally downy or woolly culm and leaves.
Gen. XX. DANTHON'TA, LC.
Spiculæ 2-S-floræ; floribus distichis, summo tabescente. Glumæ 2, subcariuatæ, muticæ, subæquales,
flores æquantes v. superantes. Paleæ 2 : inferior barbata, cóncava, multinervis, apice biflda, inter
lacinias muticas v. aristato-subulatas aristata ; arista basi complanata, torta v. brevissima, recta.
2, integræ, glabræ v. pilosæ. Ovarium stipitatum. Caiyopsis compressa, libéra.—Gramina î
rumque rigida; ioldaplanis v. involutis; spiculis majusculis,pedicellatis, racemosis v.
Generally harsh, tufted Grasses, growing in dry soils and climates, as in Austraba, South Africa, aud the South
of Europe.—Leaves flat or involute. Panicles rather contracted, of few large often shming spikelets. Ploxo&rs two
or more, the upper often imperfect. Glumes two, awnless, nearly equal, as long as or longer than the flowers. Lower
palea concave, many-nerved, bearded, bifid at the point, with a long or short, flattened, twisted awn. Ovarg smooth,
stipitate. Seed compressed. (Name in honour of M. Danthoine, a French botanist.)
I . Danthonia antárctica. Hook, fil.; elata, rigida, culmis basi crassis, foliis culmo longioribus crassis
coriaceisque iuferioribus basi intus sericeis, bgula villosa, costa valida, panicula maxima effusa, ramis
elongatis, pedicellis sericeis, spiculis (magnitudine variis) 4-7-floris albidis nitidis, glumis inæqualibus,
floscubs distantibus multo brevioribus acutis apice integris erosis bidentatis, palea inferiore sericeo-vibosa
bifida, arista recta v. recurva palea duplo longiorebasi compressa.—Bromus antarcticus, Mora Antarct.
p . 97. t. 54. Arundo flavescens. Banks et Sol. MSS.
Var. a. elata; culmis validis, foliis coriaceis latiusculis intus basi sericeis, panicula densifiora, spiculis
majuscubs.
Var. /3. laxiflora ; elata, culmis foliisque ut in var. a, panicula rariflora.—Agrostis pilosa, A. Cunn.
Prodr. fid. Eerb. Eeward, non A. Rich. Flor. (Tab. LXIX. A.)
Var. y.parviflora; spicubs minoribus sparsis.
Var. B. minor ; glaberrima, culmis brevioribus, fobis setaceo-involutis, panicula pauciflora.
Hab. Northern and Middle Islands, Banks and Solander, etc. ; top of the Rualiine range, Colenso,
Sinclair, ete. Var. y. Southern Island, Br. Lyall.
A tall and very handsome Grass, but variable in size and habit, number of spikelets, breadth of leaves, their
texture and hqjriness, denseness of panicle and length of glumes.—Culms 3-5 feet high, often as thick as tiic thumb
at the base. Leaves longer than the culm, rigid, coriaceous, with a very thick midrib, furrowed; sheaths glabrous;
ligula a transverse villous line ; lamina usually silky towards the base on tbe upper surface. Panicle a span to a
ioot long, yellow, much branched ; branches a foot long, or short, slender, often downy or silky. Spikelets white,
very shining, i - f inch long, five- to seven-flowered. Glumes unequal, acute, erose or toothed at the tip. Florets
on a silky rachis, ^ inch long. Lower palea deeply bifid, seven-nerved, very silky, especially at the base and
margius, with long shining hairs ; awn twice as long as the palea, straight or recurved, very flat below, seldom aud
only sparingly twisted. Ovary quite glabrous.— This Grass, which is a native of Lord Auckland’s Group, is figured
and erroneously referred to Bromus in tbe ‘ Flora Antarctica,’ from which genus it is to be distinguished by the
awn being sometimes twisted and by the ovary being glabrous. Cunningham refers the var. laxiflora to Agrostis,
though bis specimens have four or five florets.
2. Danthonia rigida, Raoul; rigida, elata, vaginis subsericeis, foliis involutis glabris, panicula ampia
glabra, glumis 3-floris lanceolatis acuminatis flosculis æquilongis, palea inferiore dorso marginibus basique
sericea profunde biflda, arista basi compressa torta.—Raoul, Choix de Plantes, p . 12. (Ta b . LXIX. A.)
H a b . Middle Islaud : Akaroa, on stony mountains, RaotU.
I have only an imperfect specimen of this from M. Raoul, which closely resembles the last in habit and general
appearance, and may prove a variety of it ; but it differs in the longer glumes, fewer florets, and less silky paleæ, as
also, according to M. Raoul’s description, in the silky sheaths of the leaves.—Plate LXIX. A. Fig. 1, spikelet ;
2, floret; 3, scale; 4, ovary:—all magnified.
3. Danthonia hromoides. Hook, fil.; glaberrima,'foliis culmo longioribus involutis, collo barbato,
pamcula lanceolata contracta, ramis pubescentibus, spiculis magnis 6-floris, flosculis glumis ovato-lanceolatis
acutis multo longioribus supremis incompletis, raclii villosa, palea inferiore dorso basique sericeo-pilosa
superne puberula apice breviter bicuspidata, arista recta basi plana palea subduplo longiore, palea superiore
carinis scabris, ovario glaberrimo, squamulis obovatis ciliatis. (Ta b . LXVIII. A.)
H a b . Northern Island, &
Unlike the other species in general appearance, and more resembling Bi'omus mollis, but the ovaiy appears
perfectly glabrous.—Culms a foot or so high, quite smooth and glabrous. Leaves involute, longer than the culm,
numerous, glabrous, except at the ligula, which is represented by silky hairs. Panicle 4-5 inches long, contracted;
branches downy. Spikelets yellow-green, not shining, inch loug (without the awns), six- or seven-flowered; rachis
silky. Glumes unequal, ovate-lanceolate, acute, much shorter than the spikelet. Lower palea with loug silky hairs
at the base, margin, and back, smooth or faintly downy above; its summit split into two cuspidate conniving points ;
awn twice as long as the palea, straight, flatteued below. Tipper palea shortly bifid, nearly as long as the lower,
with loug silky hairs at the base and margins, and two scabrid keels. Scales obcuneate or obovate, ciliated with
long hairs. Anthers linear, elongate. Ovary quite glabrous.—I have only two specimens of this, and hence some
allowance must be made for probable variations in size and haii'iness of parts.—P late LXVIII. A. Fig. 1, floret;
2, upper palea; 3, scale; 4, stamen; 5, ovary :—all magnified.
4. Danthonia pilosa, B r.; culmis foliis setaceis vaginisque plus minusve molliter laxe patentim pilosis,
panicula coarctata lanceolata, spiculis 6-floris glumis brevioribus, palea inferiore basi medioque barbata,
fasciculis superioribus pilorum raris brevibus, aristis lateralibus elongatis palea longioribus, glumis inclusis
exsertisve intermedia torta flosculo bis ter longiore.—Br. Prodr. Trin. Sp. Gram. v. 1. t. 51.
H a b . N’orthern and Middle Islands: Bay of Islands, etc., Sinclair, etc.; Canterbury, Lyall.
A slender, tufted, rigid, wiry Grass.—Leaves setaceous, and cidms (a span to 2 feet high) more or less covered
with long scattered hairs. PanicU contracted, lanceolate or ovate, pale-green, l i - 3 inches loug. Spikelets erect,
shining, with brown exserted awns, six-flowered, g inch long. Glumes longer than the florets. Lower palea with
a tuft of silky hairs at the base, and a few small tufts above the middle; lateral awns twice as long as the palea, as
long or longer than the glumes, half as long as the twisted middle awn.—A very common Tasmanian plant, also
found at Port Jackson.
5. Dantlionia gracilis. Hook, fib; foliis filiformi-setaceis culmisque gracilibus patentim pilosis, panicula
subsimplici elongata coulracta pauciflora, glumis sub-4-floris flosculis lougioribus, palea inferiore basi