Petrie. — New Native Species of Phanerogams. 187 



Flowering-glumes coriaceous, lanceolate, acute ; awn none, or very 

 short; nerves 5, very obscure. Palea as long as the flowering-glume, 

 slightly coriaceous, 2-nerved ; nerves glabrous. 



Hob. — Coastal cliffs and rocky slopes at Port Nicholson, and the shores 

 of Cook Strait. 



Mr. B. C. Aston has furnished me with a fine series of specimens of 

 this grass, which gives promise of some considerable economic value. It 

 yields a large bulk of delicate foliage, and deserves experimental cultivation. 



Professor Hackel, who has kindly reported on specimens forwarded to 

 him, and has also suggested the specific name, writes me as follows : ' The 

 species differs from Festuca rubra L. not only in the number of nodes and 

 leaves, but also in the character of the innovation shoots, which are extra - 

 vaginal throughout, while in F. rubra part of them grow up in the axils 

 of the persistent sheaths ; the sheaths of F. rubra are closed up to the 

 mouth, those of F. multinodis are split throughout. The inflorescence 

 and the spikelets show little difference, but the pales of F. multinodis are 

 quite smooth on the keels, while these keels are scabrid or somewhat ciliate 

 in F. rubra." 



Mr. Aston has for some years urged in correspondence with me that 

 this Festuca was a new species, but, though agreeing with him, the genus 

 is one of such difficulty that I should not have published it had not Professor 

 Hackel supported our opinion. 



Trisetum antarcticum Trinius, subspecies tenella, subsp. nov. 



Folia fere omnia radicalia, brevia, 2-4 cm. longa, involuta, setacea, 

 tenuiter pubescentia. 



Culmi valde graciles, teretes, glabri, tenuiter striati. 



Panicula spiciformis, densa, oblonga, lf-3 cm. longa 



Spiculae sessiles, compressae, 4 mm. longae. 



Glumae vacuae subaequales ; floriferae vacuis paullo longiores ; arista 

 glumam aequans. 



A slender erect perennial, forming diminutive tufts. 



Leaves 2-4 cm. long, involute, setaceous, finely pubescent, one-third as 

 long as the culms or less ; ligule short, truncate, hyaline, erose, and more 

 or less ciliate. Cauline leaves solitary or rarely two, with sheaths several 

 times longer than the blades. 



Culms very slender, terete, glabrous, finely striate. 



Panicle spiciform, dense, oblong, 1^-3 cm. long, 5 mm. broad. 



Spikelets sessile, compressed, 4 mm. long, the terminal ones very 

 shortly stalked. 



Empty glumes almost equal, acute or acuminate, the lower narrower. 



Flowering-glumes glabrous, a little longer than the empty : the awn 

 springing from the back a little below the tip, about as long as the glume, 

 slightly reflexed. 



Palea as long as the flowering-glume. 



Hob. — Dry shingly flats in the wide alluvial valleys of the Mount Cook 

 district, 2,500-3,500 ft. ; abundant, 



The present subspecies differs from the type form of the species in the 

 short involute setaceous leaves, the slender erect culms that greatly exceed 

 the cauline leaves, the dense oblong spiciform panicle, and the small 

 spikelets with nearly equal empty glumes and shorter less reflexed awns. 

 Its distinctive characters show little variation. Its foliage is so short and 

 scanty that it is a quite unimportant element in the valley pastures. 



