i: Ysi
I ! '
M f 'Y
on smooth or hniry capillary pedicels. Glumes very long, acummate, i - f inch long. Flowers two or three, half as
ong as the glumes, surrounded with long, silky hairs. Lower palea ending in a straight, slightly twisted awn as
long as the glumes.—This beautiful Grass has hitherto been found in New Zealand only ; though rarely one-flowered,
t lere can, I thmk, be no doubt that it is Forster’s Arundo conspicua, both from Solander’s indentiflcation and
In n iu s s observation in the Index to his Gram. Unifl. p. 27-llf
Gen. X V I I . H IE R O C H L O E , Gmel.
S p ic nU 3-floræ ; floribus lateralibus masculis, intermedio hermaplirodito. Glumæ 2, carinatæ, subæquales.
Faleæ 2, muticæ v . inferior aristata, carinata ; arista terminali t . dorsali, recta v . incurva, brevi.
Squamulæ 2, bilobæ. El. g Stamina 3. FI. g Stamina 2. Caryopsis libéra, paleis obtecta.— Gramina
oetwa; ioXnaplanis v. in v o lu tis; s p c v i\s p a n icu la tis, n itid is, majusculis.
A very beautiful genus of sweet-smelling Grasses, found principally in the cold climates of both hemispheres
and on the lofty mountains of warmer ones. One southern species is common to Tasmania. New Zealand, and
'uegia; another to Europe. New Zealand, and Tasmania.—Xraras soft, flat or involute. Culms tufted. Famcles
oose or compact, of many. large, pedicelled, shming, ofteu pale yeUow spikelets. Glumes equal, keeled, with three
almost sessde fiowers, the two lower male, with three stamens, the middle or upper hermaphrodite, with two
stamens. Paleæ broad, blunt, often downy ; lower keeled, with a short, straight, or bent terminal or dorsal awii ;
■upper two-nerved ; middle flower with shorter awns or none. Scales two, two-lobed. Seed free within the paleas!
(Name from Itpos. sacred, and ykoq, a grass; the if . lorealis being dedicated to the Virgin Mary.)
1. Hierochloe redolens, Br. ; foliis planis .scaberulis glabrisve, ligulis late ovatis obtusis, panicula
effusa n utante, glumis flosculos æquantibus superiore nervis lateralibus ad medium a ttingentibus, fl. masc.
5-nerviis pubescentibus basi subvillosis infra apicem aristatis marginibus dorsoque ciliatis, fl. liermapli.
obtuso mucronato v. subaristato.— * . Frodr. in not. F l. Antarct. v . l . p . 92. Torresia, Fcem. et Schulte's.
A . Cunn. Prodr. Holcus, Forst. Prodr. Holcus Dioneus, Ba n k s et Sol. MS S .
H ab. Th roughout th e Islands, common in wet places. B a n k s a n d SoUnder, ete.
A large and handsome Grass, conspicuous for its delicious odour, like that of the common Vernal Grass
(Anthoxanlhum) of England, that gives the sweet scent to new-made la y .— Culms leafy, densely tufted. 2-3 feet Ion«
herbaceons. Leaves flat, smooth or minutely scabrid to the touch ; ligula membrauous, broml. PanicU noddinl!
0 -10 mches long, of many shining, pale spikelets; branches capillary, hairy here and there, lower 2-3 inches loiM!
&umes shinmg. about \ inch long, as long as the florets ; outer with sometimes two lateral very short nerves at the
base ; upper three-nerved to the middle. Lower palea of the lateral flowers bearded below, downy above the
margins and back with long cilia, five-nerved. Awn short, inserted below the top. Lower palea of tbe lipper
flower smooth or downy above, with a short aw n .-T h is fine Grass occurs also in Campbell’s Island, and one
variety of it is frequent m Tasmania, and a second in Tien-a del Fuego and the Falkland Islands : the sli«ht differences
between all these have been dwelt upon in the ‘ Flora Antarctica’ at length.
2. HierocMoe horealis, Roem. e t S ch u ltes; cæspitosa, glaberrima, foliis culmo gracili brevioribus
panícula brevi ovata pauciflora, glumis coloratis 3-uerviis flosculis æquilougis, palea inferiore sericea mu tic !
v. aristata. Fngl. Bo t. t. 2641. H . Frazeri, mihi in P l. Antarct. note, p . 93.
H ab. N o rth e rn and Middle Is la n d s : top of Rualiine mountains, Colenso; mountains near Nelson
B r . Monro.
A very distinct-looking Grass, much smaller than II. redolens, with shorter, more strict leaves, and a small
ovate pamcle, of fewer smaller flowers. Culms a foot high, tufted. Leaves 4 -8 inches long, strict, quite smooth
flat. PameU 2-3 inches long, ovate. •■Spikelets u inch long, broad. Glumes short, acute, as long as the flowms’
three-nerved, the lateral nerves shorter, sometimes obscure. Florets silky; outer palca with ciliated margins, a m i
an awn, which is very variable in length, inserted above or below the middle.—I had named this Grass II. Frazeri
in the ‘ Flora Antarctica,’ from Tasmanian specimens gathered by Mr. Frazer on Mount Wellington, but I quite
agree with Major Munro in considering it identical with the H. lorealis, a very common plant in the Arctic regions
and in the mountains of N orthern Asia, Middle and Southera Europe, and North America. I t varies greatly in the
position and length of the awn and size of tbe panicle.
Obs. The II. Brunonis (Fl. Antarct. p. 93. t. 53) which has only been found in Lord Auckland’s Group and
Campbell’s Island, possibly occurs on the mountains of New Zealand, and may be known by its resemblance to II.
redolens, and by its glumes being much longer than the florets.
Geu. X V I I I . D E SC H AM P S IA , B a l.
Spiculoe 2-3-floræ ; floribus disticliis, summo tabescente. Glumæ 2, carinatæ, muticæ, subæquales,
floribus breviores. Baleoe 2 : inferior supra b asin aristata, 4 -d e n ta ta ; arista brevi, recta, apice tru n c a ta ;
superior apice bifida, mutica. Squamulæ 2, integræ. Caryopsis libera.— Spiculæ pa n icu la tæ, pedieellatæ.
This genus is most frequent in the temperate and Arctic regions of the Northern hemisphere, but is also found
in Fuegia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.— Culms slender, often branched. Leaves flat or convolute. Spikelets
panicled, shining, pedicellate, two- or three-flowered, the upper flower imperfect. Glumes 3, keeled, awnless,
nearly equal, shorter than the flowers. Lower palea truncate, four-toothed, with a short straight awn from above the
middle ; upper with two nerves, bifid, awnless. Scales entire.
1. Deschampsia cæspitosa, B e a u v .; glaberrima, n itid a, culmis cæspitosis, foliis plerumque rigidis
involutis, panicula diffusa rachi lævi ramulis verticillatis scabris, glumis glabris, floribus 2 æquüongis
acutis, paleis glaberrimis superiore basi sericea tru n c a ta apice erosa arista æquüonga dorso ad medium
in serta superiore bifida æquilonga, setula ad basin fioris secundi pedicellati villosa.— Bea u v. Agrost. Aira
cæspitosa, L in n . Sp. B I. Fngl. B o t. t. 1 4 5 3 . Aira Kingii, F l. A n ta r c t.p . 876. t. 1 3 5 . Aira australis,
Raoul, Choix de Riantes, p . 1 2 ?
H ab. N o rth e rn Islan d : E a s t Coast, on low grounds, Colenso. (Common in En g lan d .)
A very common and beautiful Grass, usually perfectly smooth, pale yellow, and shining.— Culms tufted, 6
inches to 2-^ feet high, slender, wiiy. Leaves involute, sometimes setaceous. Panicle 3 inches to a foot long, loose,
effuse ; branches slender, whorled or fascicled, rough. Spikelets shining, yellow, green, or purple, inch long, bearing
two flowers, with the villous pedicel of a third. Glumes nearly equal, acute, as long as the flowers, which are
silky at the base, the upper on a long pedicel. Lower palea truncate, toothed at the tip, with a short dorsal awn ;
upper as long, bifid.
Gen. X IX . T R ISE TUM , K w iih .
Sqneulæ 2 -4 -flo ræ ; flore summo in terd um tabescente. Glumæ 2, carinatæ, muticæ, subæquales v.
inæquales, floribus breviores. Baleoe 2 : inferior bifida, dorso aristata, rarius mutica, arista to rtili; superior
bicarinata. Caryopsis libéra, glabra.— Gramina plerumque montícola; foins p la n is v. involutis ; paniculis
Culms tufted. Leaves flat or convolute, smooth or downy. Panicles generally contracted and spike-like.
Spikelets two- to four-flowered, the upper flower often incomplete. Glumes two, unequal or nearly equal, keeled,
awnless, shorter thau the fiowers. Lower palea bifid, with two subulate teeth at the top, awned at the back (rarely
awnless), awn twisted. Ovary glabrous. (Name from the lower palea being often three-awned.)
1. Trisetum antarcticum, T r in .; cæspitosum, glaberrimum, læve v. foliis subscaberulis, culmis strictis
erectis foliosis, foliis anguste lineari-subulatis, panicula erecta elongata subcontracta, spiculis pallidis
nitidis subtrifloris, glumis inæqualibus acuminatis flosculis brev io rib i^ dorso scabridis, palea inferiore
scaberula bifida arista reflexa, pedicello floris superioris longe sparse ciliato.— Trinius, Ac t. Petrop. Aira,
Forst. Prodr. Avena, Roem. et Schultes. B r . Prodr. p . 209 {in note). A . Cunn. Prodr. Torresia, P a l
4 i '