89. L. LATERALE E. B t . Prodr. 1 6 5 ; Labill. Sertum, t. 15.—
Stems erect, or deciirrent at the base, simple or little branched,
4 - I 4 ill. long. Leaves moderately dense, liuear-lauceolate, moderately
firm in texture, pale green, ascending or the lower spreading,
4 - J in. lo n g ; midrib d is tin c t; edges revolute. Spikes many,
sessile, lateral, simple, ascending, hi. lo n g ; bracts rigid,
stramineous, imbricated, broad ovate, with a large cusp.
Hab. Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. Very distinct.
Subgenus IV. D i p h a s id m .
90. L. CAROLINIANUM Lililí. Sp. edit. ii. 1567 (Dill. Muse. tab.
62, fig. 6). L. repens Sw. L . affine Bory. L. ericetorum and
amhii/uum Sobrad. L . drepanoides Blume.—Main stem trailing and
rooting, varying in length from a couple of inches to a foot,
bearing short distant trailing branches. Leaves secund, dimorphic,
lanceolate, iu- long, thin, pale green, those of the lower plane
more or less falcate, those of the upper plane ascending. Peduncle
stiffly erect, 2 -1 2 iu. long, stramineous, with lax adpressed rigid
leaves. Spikes solitary, oylindrioal, 1 -8 iu. long ; bracts broad
ovate, with a large spreading or ascending cusp.
Hab. On the ground in swamps. Throughout America, from the United States
to South Brazil ; also Guinea, Cape, Mascaren Isles, Ceylon, Hongkong, Malay
Isles, New Guinea and Tasmania. The principal varieties are L . paradoxum
Spring ; Mart. Icon. Crypt. Bras. tab. 20, fig. 2. Brazil and New Granada, with
oblique ovate leaves of the lower plane ; L. tuberosum A. Br., Angola, with very
acuminate leaves and sterile branches bearing tubercles ; and L . sarcocaulun
Welw., Angola and Cape, with very large thin falcate acuminate leaves J in. long.
91. L. WiGHTiANUM Wall. Gat. No. 2184. L. Loureiri Desv. ?—-
Stems wide-trailing, wiry, sparsely leafy ; branches ascending,
copiously compound, branchlets sometimes 3 -4 in. long, flat, -J- in.
diam. inoluding the leaves. Leaves dimorphic, green, firm in
texture ; those of the lower plane very deourrent, with a free
lanceolate arcuate-ascending blade, l-1 2 th in. lon g ; those of the
upper plane smaller, lanceolate, ascending, adpressed to the stem.
Spikes solitary, sessile at the end of elongated branchlets, many to
a branch, cylindrical, l - l^ - in . long; bracts ovate, with a squarrose
cusp.
Hab. Neilgherries and mountains of Ceylon and Java. Closely allied to
complanatum and alpinum.
92. L. coMPLANATUM Lliin. Sp. edit. ii. 1567 fDill. Muso. t.
5 9 -6 9 ) ; Journ. Bot. 1882, t. 283, FI. Dan. t. 2 671.— Main stem
hypogæous, trailing sometimes to a length of several feet; branches
ascending, copiously compound ; branchlets 1 -2 inches long,
1-12 in. diam. including the distichous leaves. Leaves dimorphic,
firm and rigid in texture, green ; those of the lower plane with
a very decurrent adiiate base and short ascending free lanceolate
point ; those of the upper plane linear, erect, adpressed to the
stem. Spikes several on a common peduncle from the axis of a
branch, cylindrical, 1 -2 in. long. l-1 2 th in. diam. ; bracts broad
ovate, ascending, shortly cuspidate.
Var. L. thuyoides H. B. K. iu Willd. Sp. Plant, v. 18.— A luxuriant
variety with branchlets often 3 -4 in. long and 8 -1 0 spikes on a
long peduncle.
Var. L . ChatncEcyparissus A. Br. in Doell Ehein Flora 8 6 ; FI.
Dan. t. 2 672.—Leafy branches less spreading, narrower, stiller,
nearly square. Leaves less distinctly dimorphic
Hab. North temperate zones of both hemispheres; also Madeira, Azores,
Madagascar, Java, Sumatra, New Guinea, Tahiti and Tropical America,
ascending in the Andes to 11,000 ft. Habit of L . alpinum, from which it differs
by its dimorphic distichous leaves and peduncled spikes, L . Chamiecyparissus
and L . tristachyon Presl. being connecting links between the two types.
93. L. scARiosuM Forst. Prodr. 8 7 ; Hook. Ic. t. 966. L .
decurrens E . Br. L. Lessonianum A. Eich. L. lindseaceum Spring.
L. comptonioides Desv. L. Gayanum. Keiny.— Stem trailing to a
length of several f e e t ; branches ascending, copiously compound,
4 -1 ft. lo u g ; branchlets ascending, fiat including the leaves,
4 -4 iu. diam. Leaves distichous, dimorphous, firm in texture,
green, with a distinct midrib ; those ot the lower plane lax, very
decurrent, ascending, lanceolate, 4 “^ Li. lo n g ; those of upper
plane much smaller, lanceolate, erect, adpressed to the axis.
Spikes solitary, sessile or peduncled at the end of the branchlets,
often many to a branch, cylindrical, 1 -2 in. long ; bracts broad
ovate, with a large finally squarrose cusp.
Var. L. Jtissicei Desv. Encyc . Suppl. iii. 543 ; Hook, et Grev.
Ic. t. 186. L. Haenkei P re sl.— Branches erect, longer and more
compound than in the t y p e ; branchlets 4 - 4 in. diam. Spikes
1 -5 , on a long peduncle, mainly produced from the central axis of
the branch.
Hab. New Zealand, the type. The Australian (Victorian Alps and Tasmania)
plant is slightly different. L. Jussuei is widely spread over the Andes,
extending also to Jamaica and Brazil. The Chilian L . Gayanum is intermediate
between Jussieei and the type.
94. L. voLDBiLE Forst. Prodr. 8 6 ; Hook, et Grev. Ic . t. 170.
L . spevtahile Blume. L . Jkirvillei A. E ich .— Stems wide-scandent,
wiry, stramineous; branchlets decompound; ultimate branchlets
divaricate, sometimes 2 -3 in. long, 4 - 1 hi. broad including the
distichous leaves. Leaves very dimorphic, firm but thiii in texture,
pale green; those of the lower plane lanceolate, 4 - 4 hi. long, with
a broad adnate base, a distinct excurrent midrib and an oblique
ascending p o in t; those of the upper plane linear, adpressed to the
stem. Spikes very abundant, cylindrical, pendulous, 1 -3 in. long,
1-12 in. diam., forming ample panicles apart from the leaves;
bracts ascending, imbricated, broad ovate, with a small cusp.
Hab. New Zealand, Polynesia, New Caledonia, N. Australia, and mountains
of Java, Borneo, New Guinea and Penang, forming dense entangled
masses on the margin of forests.
3. T m e s i p t e r i s Bernh.
Sporangia boat-shaped, 2-celled, 2-lobed, with the septum
across the narrow diameter, opening by a slit down the apex from
end to end (very rarely 3-lobed and 3-celled), adnate singly to the