vindibusve S -6 J o n s , glumis flosculisque remotis glabratis v. scaberulis, palea inferiore oblonga T. Bncari
basi parce W a rarius nuda.—P, Sieberioua, Kunlh, f i t . Nee,, in E ,rh . Lindley. P. elfusa, Seee, in
.Hook. Lond. Jour. Bot. ii. 418. {Gunn, 596, 1010, 597.)
Var. 3. cap,¡¡¡folia; scabrida v. glaberrima, foliis capillaceo-setaceis culmo brevioribus, panicula contractu
V. ranus effusa, ramis interioribus capiUaoeis elongatis, spiculis viridibus parvis S -6 -lloris, glumis
floscuhsque remotis scaberulis, palea inferiore oblonga v. lineari basi nuda. (Gunn, 596, 1469 1468
1470.)
Han. Throughout Tasmania; most abundant. Var. a. B j tbe sea-shore in sandy places. Var. )3.
Tops ot all the mountains, forming the common pasturc-grass. Var. y and S are the most common Grasses
m the Island. Var. i , "Silver Grass,” not eaten by cattle (OldfeU).— (c. c.)
D is t iu b . Extratropical New Holland, and New Zealand.
I have, with relnctaucc, bnt latterly without hesitation, nniled the widely diifcrcnt-lookmg forms ot Pe ,
amtrala under one, after repeated examination ot many hundreds of specimens coOected in masses in man, parts
of Tasmania by Mr. Gunn, myseit. and others, together with copious suites from New Holland nnd New Zealand,
and I am farther inclined to add to them the following (P. afiinh). The Fednea <mi,a is one of the few eqnahy
vanable British Grasses. The extreme states are : (1) a perfeell, smooth, sliining, stout Grass, with ta.lms 2 feet
Ingh, hranchiiig below, long lenves that hnve broad sheaths, and rather compact pamcles ot scabrous ovate spikelets,
having rillons iioweia placed close together; this I have called var. it is described from L.MOardicre’s specimens
(ot Arundo pexforrtia) and Mr. Gunn’s, bnt does not agree (in not hardng scabrid leaves) with Brown's
character of P . auetralw under which Labillardicre’s plant is quoted as a synonym i (2) var. 5, a densely tufted
Grass, often not so long as the finger (though sometimes f* foot high), with a dense bmsh of filiform, short or
long leaves, a very slender cnlm, nnd effuse, ca.oillary panicle, of small, nearly glabrous, green spikelets, having
naked, Huear, remote florets.—Between these widely difi’erent forms are the common one. of a rough or smooth
setaceous-leaved Grass, 1-2 feet high, with a slender culm, and effuse, erect, ovate panicle of green or pnipl)
spikelets.— Gl.i«es scabrous, three- to seveu-fiowered. Ilewen dose or distant, oblong, or Knear and naiTow
ghtbrons or soabrotia, bearded with long wool, or naked below.—I have no doubt that, as Mr. Brown suggests)
his P. flebeja, P. Uxig, and P . ajfnie are all common varieties of this one plant, but his descriptions do not "enable
me to identify the common Tasmanian forms, nor do I find that Nees von Esenheck, who named a set ot Mr.
Gunn’s Grasses for Dr. Liiidley’s Herbarium, has divided them at all satisfactoriiy.
2. P o a affims (Br. Prodr, 179); glabra, scaberula v. scabrida, culmis elongatis foliosis, foliis elongatis
planiusculis involuto-setaceisve, ligula brevissima, pauicula elongata contracta, ramis inferioribus elongatis
erectis, spiculis seabris ovato-lanceolatis contractis, glumis acutis, floribus subremotis obtusis subacutisve,
palea inferiore 5-uervi interne ciliata v. barbata.—P . australis, ,3; spiculis viridibus, foliis subiiidc planiusculis,
Nees, in Hook. Lond. doum. Boi. ii. 418. (Gunn, 1012, 595.)
H a b . Northern parts of Tasmania, Lawrence, Gunn, etc.
D is t r ib . Austraiia, sonth o f the tropics. New Zeakand.
I refer this doubtfully to Ml-. Biowu’s P . affinti, which is described as havirig the leaves smooth below,
whereas these are scabrid. It is a commou Australian and New Zealand Grass, and is both smooth and scabrid in
these eonntries, and in all it approaches far too nearly P. auslrnli,, if indeed it shoidd not r.ither he piononnced a
variety of that plant.—A much larger plant than P. amtmlit, 2-3 feet high, with a coarse, stout, leafy culm.
Leaves longer than the culm, involute or almost flat, PmieU nearly a span long, contcacled, with erect, .appressed
branches, and smaU green spikelets. Glumes acute, rather ac.abrid. Lower palea sometimes almost sharp, n.aked
or bearded at the base.
3. P o a tene ra (Mueller, MSS.); debilis, glaberrima v. scaberula, culmis ramosis tenuibus foliosis.
foliis angustis planiusculis, ligula mediocri membranácea, panicula effusa, ramis capillaribus paucifloris,
spiculis parvis ¡lallidis 3-5-floris, floribus remotis, palea inferiore obtusa 5-nervi dorso marginibusque
pubescente basi nuda v. parce barbata.—P. saxícola, Br. ?, var. effusa, Nees, in Hook. Lond. Joum, Bot. ii.
418. (G«««, 1009.) (T a b . CLXIV. p4.)
ri-’iB. Common in woods and shaded places, Gunn, Oldfield, Archer.— (i>. v.)
D i s t r ib . Victoria.
A much more flaccid, slender, and weaker straggling plant than any state of P. australis, well distinguished
from it by the membranous ligula when that organ is present.— Culms slender, sometimes flaccid and climbing, 1-8
feet long, branched, leafy at the joints. Leaves very narrow, usually flat, green, with ratlier long, membranous
ligulæ. Panicle slender, effuse or contracted ; branches capillary. Spikelets few. Glumes three- to five-flowered,
acute. Flowers distant. Lower palea glabrous, except at the back and margins, which are pubescent or ciliated,
sometimes a little bearded at the base.—This caunot be Mr. Brown’s P. saxícola, though )M. Nees has so considered
it in Herb. Lindley, tbe panicle being effuse, not simple and contracted, the ligula is often wanting, the
leaves are very narrow, and often involute,—P la t e CLXIV. A. Fig. 1, spikelet ; 2, flower ; 3, pistil, stamens, and
squamulæ ;—all magnified.
4. P o a sa x íco la (Br, Prodr. 180) ; culmis cæspitosis elongatis basi foliosis, foliis breviusculis latis
planis scaberulis, ligula lata mediocri membranácea, panicula coarctata subsimplici, spiculis coloratis elliptico
lanceolatis glabratis turgidis, glumis obtusis margine pubescentibus 3-4-floris, floribus confertis, palea
inferiore obtusa lata coriácea enervi glaberrima margine pubescente, superiore carinis ciliatis. {Gunn, 1466.)
( T a b . CLXIV. B.)
H a b . Mount Wellington, Brown, Gunn.
Qidte a diffcrent-iooking Grass from any state of P. australis: I have very few specimens of it.— Cidms
strict, 18 inches high, smooth, leafy at the very base. Leaves 3-4 inches long, broad, linear, flat, scaberulous ; ligula
broad, membranous. Panicle 14-24 inches long, strict, erect, nearly simple, of few, short, appressed, one- to four-
flowered branches. Spikelets sliining, turgid, purplish. Glumes blunt, glabrous, with downy edges. Flowers closeh-
imbricating, broad, and blunt. Lower palea smooth, glabrous, concave, coriaceous, purple, with white, downy
edges ; upper with two eihated keels. Squamulee ovate.—Having so few specimens, some allowance must be made
for probable variations from this description.—P la t e CLXIV. B. Fig. 1, spikelet; 2, flower; 3, squamulæ, stamen,
and pistil ;—all magnified.
Ob s . I have what is probably a fifth Tasmanian Poa, from Mr. Gunn (1491), Penquite ; glabrous, with smooth,
short, plane leaves, and membranous ligula, long, slender culm, and effuse panicle of whoried branches ; the spikelets
and flowers are nearly smooth, smaller than in P. saxícola, and sparingly woolly ov cüiated below.
O b s . Poa annua, L., has been introduced into Tasmania. {Gunn, 1472, 1483-.)
Gen. X X III. KOELEKIA, Pers.
Spicules 2 -3 - (rarius 3—l-)floræ, floribus distichis compressis nitidis scariosis. Glumæ carinatæ, muticæ,
iuæquales. Palea inferior acuta, mutica, v. apice v. infra apicem breviter aristata; superior apice
bifida. Squamulæ 2, iuæquales, 2-3-fidæ. Caryopsis libera.—Gramiua temperatis kemisphærü borealis
auslralisquc rara ; cnlmis cæspitosis ; foliis planis ; pauiculis confertis, spicæformibus ; spiculis pedicellatis.
A small genus of Grasses, scattered over the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, of which om-
Europcan aud American species is found iu Tasmania and New Zealand, and iu many other parts of the world it
is scarcely distinguishable generically from Poa or Festuca.— Culms tnfted. Leaves flat or involute. Spikelets pi-cli-
celled, clustered into a dense cylindrical, jvhitish, shiniug spike, small, two- or three-, rarely many-flowered, the upper
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