WOLLASTON EXrEDITlON TO DUTCH NEW GUINEA. 4.87 



Distinguished at once from the other New Guinea specIeSj except D. Bee- 



carii^ in tlie short leaves appresseJ wlien dry. That species differs in the 

 much taller stems, and, although in the present case the stems, which 

 innovate repeatedly from the centre of the inflorescencej may not have 

 attained their full height, they sho\v every indication of being on a quite 

 different scale from that. Moreover, the lamella:^ are much higher, their 

 apical cell narrower in section^ and the leaves more obtuse. 



Brotherus in his diao-nosis describes the leaves of the eenus as '^uno-e- 

 saumf — indeed, Catliarinea is the only genus of Polytrichacea? described as 

 having the leaves bordered. The distinct, tliough very narrow, border to the 

 nppor pirt of the leaves here therefore appeared to me one of the strongest 

 specific characters, and I apidied the name '' lunhata " accordingly. A 

 more recent study of some of the species, however^ has shown that J), sujjerha 

 frequently has a similar, if somewhat less clearly marked, border, and this 

 is also conspicuously present in the species described above as D. cnspi/olla* 

 The character is therefore not unique as I had supposed. The lamelhe in 

 this genus cover so wide a portion of the lamina, frequently when flattened 

 out reaching very nearly to the edge, that it is not always easy to make out 

 the exact cell-structure of the lamina. 



D, hvevifoUa^ Gepp, in Joarn* Linn, Soc, Bot. xlii. (1914) 209, is very 

 similar in the leaf-form and direction, but differs in the stems twdce as tall^ 

 the leaves very erect, straight, and appressed wdien dry, not at all turned to 

 one side or spirally arranged, and in the rather lower lamella? (G-7-stratose). 



Daw^soxia GiiAXDi5^, Schlicph. & Geh. in Itov. Bryok 189G, 7G. 



Camp VI h, 4475 ft. (Nos. 4, n), c. fr. Camp Ylc, 5500 ft. (No. 6), c. f r. 

 This magnificent plant appears to be the most frequent species of the genus 

 in New Guinea, and locally at least most abundant. Armit found it half a 

 yard high, and Beccari speaks of wading knee-deep in Uawsonia. Although 

 -closely resembling 7). superha in g(meral appearance^ antl indeed in struc- 

 lurOj it has distinct specific characters. The apical cell of the lamella in 

 .that species is stated by Brotherus to bo much larger than the lower ones^ 

 while here it is approximately the same size; but, as mentioned above^ I 

 doubt the stability of this character. The lamella} there are, how^ever, 

 listinctly higher than here, being composed of 5-8 rows, while here they are 

 Jower, usually of 3--4 rows only. In my note on D, altissima I have pointed 

 -out another character by which they may be separated. The seta also is 

 markedly stouter in ]). grandis^ and generally longer. Brotherus gives that 

 ■of D. grandis as 3"5 cm., that of .Z>. superba as 2 cm. ; I have, however, 

 specimens of Z>. grandis with the seta decidedly less than 3 cm., wdiiie New 

 Zealand specimens of D. superha in my herbarium have the seta fully 



c 



>. 



5 cm. 



2m 2 



