that the original plant was sent to the Royal Gardens in 

 1875 by Dr. Capanema, of Rio cle Janeiro, and flowered, for 

 the first time, several years ago : — " It is planted in a large 

 pot, submerged in the tank of the Victoria House, where 

 it produces numerous erect sterns, the tallest of which are 

 twelve feet high, solid, one inch in diameter, clothed 

 below with the tightly-clasping brown leaf-sheaths, and 

 bearing above the middle distichous leaves four to five 

 feet long, and an inch in width. Stolons are produced 

 abundantly from the base, which, if not removed as they 

 appear, would soon occupy the whole tank. It flowered 

 from September, 1893, producing only a single panicle, 

 which was female." 



In the following description the characters of the female 

 panicle and spikelets are taken from the living Kew 

 plant, those of the male spikelets from Herbarium 

 specimens. 



Desert-Stems densely tufted, simple, twelve to fifteen 

 teet high, erect, solid, an inch or more in diameter at the 

 base Leaves four to five feet long, distichous, spreading 

 ana uecurved, lmear, narrowed into a long flagelliform 

 tip, serrulate, striated, many-nerved, bright green, not 

 glaucous; midrib stout; base semi-amplexicaul ; sheaths 

 nirsute with two broad bands of long spreading or de- 

 flexed hairs ; hgule a ring of hairs. Panicle of the female 

 h ^nT, T Dg ' £ Ve t0 Six feet lon g> excessively branched; 

 ml ™lf? Ghht *> and P edicels ™ry slender, glabrous. 

 felV P 9 f U I ! qUlte 1 glabr ° US > much smal] er ^ an the 

 and TV i ' r Ce0l f tG ' glumes L and II. subequal, HI. 

 diandron, q ^ ' ^ tlp rounded or subaristate, each 



flexuo™ X • ' ? %Mets Ioosel F clothed with very long, 

 c X J * ; ? U Tr B extre ^edy narrow, I. linear-lan- 

 into » W m T-V H u twice as W. gradually narrowed 



Wer ffi Tj SUb , UlatG P ° int ^ 1IL and IY ' e ^ al > 

 subnlL n g b Sh ° rter than IL > ™vy narrowly 



2o,w5.7 5 oblong; sfcyles and sfci ^ mas very 



gl^m g es!'4 PO pS^l m l epanicIe( ?^• ™*)l 2, male spikelet; 3, flowering 



"'«T^^fem:.piketeT* n 7 fl ™ di **entary ovary from the same- 



■ M . ovary and rudiment*,™ V ' ^wering glumes from do. ; 8, tip of palea; 



rudimentary stamen from the same -.-All enlarged. 



