'lito
M:'■ M
I I ' 4
308 PLOEA OP NEW ZEjALAND. [Gramineæ.
e orm of the spikekts and florets, of which there are usuaUy only two, but differs in the glumes being shorter
thau the florets, in the long pedicel of the second flower, and in the truncate jagged lower palea. I t differs from Foa
m the latter character and in the fewer florets— f f ta e * unequal, shorter than the florets. Fiords two (rarely three
or four), both hermaphrodite; lower sessUe. upper with a long, slender stalk; the latter is sometimes continued as
the pedicel of a third floret, which is rarely produced. Lower palea concave, broad, witb a broad truncate jagged
top ; upper two-nerved. Stamens three. (Name from Kara/Sponris, in allusion to the erose tops of the glumes.)
Antarehca, Hook, fil.; glaberrima, culmis laxe cæspitosis gracilibus ramosis foliosis, foUis
ffiiformibus involutis culmis longioribus, vaginis sulcatis, Hgula elongata membranácea, panicula subcontracta
laxa pauciflora ramis capillaribus 1 -2 -flo ris, spicuKs parvis 2-floris nitidis pedicello flosculi te rtii accedente,
glunus inæqualibus subacutis, palea inferiore subenervi basi parce b a rb a ta .—* . Antarct. p . 1 0 2 . t. 66.
H ab. N o rtlie rn Islan d : summit of th e Eu ab in e range, Colenso.
A very delicate, slender Grass, a span to a foot high, first found on the mountains of CampbeU’s Island — Culms
very slender, leafy, branched below. Sh a th s deeply furrowed. Ligula long, slender, membranous ; leaf lon«er than
the culm, filiform. Fanicle veiy sleuder, erect, contracted, few-flowered, 1 -2 iuches long, sparingly b r /c h e d •
branches capiUary, one- or two-flowered. Spikelets smaU, ^ incb long, flat, white and glistening. Glumes acute’
unequal. Florets two. each with a smaU tuft of loose hairs at the base ; upper with a pedicel as long as itself
Lower palea concave, membranous, with a broad jagged top ; nerves obscure. Anthers short and broad. Squamulæ
oblique. ^
Gen. X XV . FESTUCA, Í .
Spiadæ^ bi-multi-floræ. Glumæ 2 (raro in § T u lp ia 1 ), carinatæ, inæquales, muticæ. Faleæ 2 :
inferior ecannata, apice acuta v. a rista ta ; superior bicarinata. Squamulæ 2, acute bifidæ. Siamina 1 -3 .
Caryopsis glabra, libera, v. paleæ superiori adhærens.— Folia
cellatæ, paniculatæ v. racemosæ; racliiUa articúlala.
A large genns of Grasses, almost confined to temperate and cold regions, forming extensive pasture-lands in
the Alps of Europe and elsewhere.-Zeara* flat or subulate. Spikelets pediceUed, panicled or racemose rarefy
spiked; florets often numerous, on a jointed partial rachis. Glumes two (sometimes one in { Vulpia) keeled
Paleæ two; lower keeled, quite entire at the tip, aente. often with a tenninal awn. Scales two, bifid,’smooth.
Skmens one to three. Styles terminal. Caryopsis free or adhering to the upper palea.—I know of no character but
the acuminate and often awned palea to separate this genus from Poa. The entire tip of the lower palea distill-
guishes It from Bcliedonoms. (Name, a Latin one of uncertain derivation.)
1. Fe stu c a seopana, Hook, fil.; glaberrima, rigida, culmo foHoso, foliis setaceo-involutis elongatis
stefiMormibus ligula brevissima, panicula contracta v. effusa, spicuHs majnscuHs la tiusculis 4-7 -flo ris
glumis subæqualibus flosculis brevioribus, palea inferiore scaberula acuminata basi longe barbata — F l
Antarct. p . 98.
H ab. Middle Is lan d : P o rt MHlHam, LyaU.
A Uttoral Grass, originaUy fonnd in Lord Auckland and CampbeU’s Islands.-Perfectfy smooth, polished rigid
densely tufted. Culms 1 -3 feet high. Uaves involute, filifonn or setaceous, as long as or shorter than thé culm!
Ingula very imperfect. PanKle 1-6 inches long, contracted or effuse. Spikekts few, four- to seven-flowered, 3-4
mes long. Florets spreading. Glumes acummate. shorter than the florets. Lower palea acuminate, scabrid,
bearded at the base.—This plant approaches very near smaU states of Schedonorus littoralis, but I find no trace of
toollung at the top of the lower palea.
2, 1 e s tu c a /o&osa. Hook, fil.; glaberrima, culmis cæspitosis compressis foUosis (in exempl. Nov
Zeland.) brevibus, foHis subdistichis planis v. subinvolutis culmo brevioribus longioribusve, Hgula m em ’
branaoea tn an g u la ri, pauicula n u ta n te effusa multiflora, glumis 4 -6-floris acuminatis floscuHs approximatis
Gramineæ?) ELOEA OF NEW ZEjVLAND. 309
brevioribus, palea inferiore 5-nervi acuminata subsericea v. glaberrima basi barbata.— Flora An ta rc t.
p . 99. t. 55.
H ab. Middle Is lan d : P o rt WilHam, L y a ll.
Also a littoral Grass, found first in Lord Auckland and Campbell’s Islands, where it grows to a great size and
3 feet high. Milford Sound specimens are only a span long, quite glabrous.— Culms short, tufted, leafy at the base.
Leaves coriaceous (not rigid), plane or keeled and compressed ; shorter than the cuhn (in New Zealand specimens).
Ligula conical, membranous. Panick inclined, effuse, many-flowered. Spikelets 24-3 lines long, four- to six-
flowered. Glumes smooth, acuminate. Lower palea acuminate, five-nerved, quite glabrous or silky, bearded at the
3. Festu ca duriuscula, L . ; stric ta, erecta, glaberrima, culmis cæspitosis basi foliosis, foliis setaceo-
involutis strictis erectis v. patuHs, panicula elongata coarctata, ramis brevibus elongatisve paucifloris,
glumis 6 -8-floris inæqualibus acutis floscuHs brevioribus, floscuHs Hnearibus remotis scabridis, palea
inferiore basi n u d a acuminata aristata.— L in n . Sp. P l . Engl. B o t. t. 4 7 0 .
H ab. N o rth e rn and Middle Islan d s, in mountainous districts : E a st Coast, Cape Turnagain, etc.,
Colenso ; Aglionby Plains, etc., Monro. (A most ab u n d an t B ritish Grass.)
A widely distributed Grass, found in Tasmania and Fuegia, and in almost all temperate and cold climates. It
forms a great proportion of the alpine pasture grass in the moorlands of the British Islands, and is extremely
variable in stature and habit.— Qnite smooth, generally shining. Culms densely tufted, leafy chiefly at the base,
1 -3 feet high, strict, slender. Leaves setaceous, often long and filiform, sometimes sbort and rigid. Panick an
inch to a span long, erect, naiTOW, contracted or spreading, few-flowered ; branches erect, long or short, slender.
Glumes acuminate or acute, shorter than the florets, fom-- to eight-flowered. Florets narrow, remote, glabrous.
Lower p a ka acuminate, awned, generally scabrid.
4 . Fe stu c a (Tulpia) hromoides, L. ; annua, glaberrima, culmis plurimis dense cæspitosis foliosis, foHis
filiformibus involutis, vagiuis elongatis, ligula membranacea, panicula contracta u n ilate rali racemosa ramis
brevibus erectis, spiculis sessiHbus 8 -1 0 -flo ris lævibus scaberulisve, glumis unilateralibus valde inæqualibus
subidato-acuminatis, floscuHs approximatis anguste lanceolatis, palea inferiore longe aristata, arista scaberula
.— L in n . Sp. P l. E n g l. B o t. t. 1 4 1 1 . F . plebeia, B r . P rodr.
T a r. fi. teneUa ; culmis brevibus capillaribus 1-3-floris.
H ab. Bay of Islands, Auckland, and G reat Barrière Islands, ab u n d an t, Sinclair, ete. T a r. fi. Bay
of Islands, frequent. (A native of England.)
A very common Grass, native of Europe and (generally naturalized) of other parts of the world. I t has possibly
been introduced into New Zealand, as I do not find it in any of the older coUections, and, except Dr. Sinclair’s
Great Barrière Island specimens, all are from the vicinity of settlements. I t was found in Tasmania by Mr. Brown,
aud is common in that island.—An annual Grass, very variable in size, from 2 inches to 2 feet, always perfectly
smooth. Culms densely tufted, simple, more or less leafy upwards, slender (in var. fi as slender as a thread).
Uaves nai-row, involute, filiform ; sheaths long. Panick generally 1 -3 inches long, erect, contracted, rather dense,
sometimes reduced in var. fi to one spikelet. Branches short, erect, appressed. Spikekts rather crowded, shortly
pedicelled, three- to ten-flowered, 4 inch long with the awns. Glumes narrow, subulate, tbe upper much the
largest, strongly nerved, placed at one side of the base of the spikelet. Florets close together on a slender radiis.
Uwer p a ka scabrous or smooth, concave, narrow, lanceolate, tapering into a long scabrid hair-like awn.
Gen. X X T I . SC HEDO N OEUS , P a l.
Omnia Festuca:, sed palea inferiore mutica, sub apice breviter emarginato-dentata.
This genns only differs from Festuca in having the shaip lower palea notched at each side near the top, or
obscurely three-toothed—a very obscure character in S. littoralis, and sometimes wanting; the southern species are
4 H