THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 167 



round their nests. We crossed over the Thompson River, but, 

 being the dry season, there was not much water in it. At one 

 place on the side of our track, which led down a very steep hill, 

 a big bullock had slipped and fallen down, but a small tree had 

 arrested it in its course down hill ; but the poor beast, not 

 having strength to rise from the difficult position in which it had 

 fallen, had died where it lay. On the bank of the Bloomfield 

 River was a small but well-kept coffee plantation ; the trees 

 appeared to be thriving and free from disease. The guide 

 remained at the river, while I, after being ferried across, walked 

 on to " Wyalla," arriving there about four o'clock p.m. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF VICTORIA. 



No. II. 



By F. M. Reader. Communicated by C Frost, F.L.S. 



(Bead before Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 8th March, 1897.) 



Stipa acrociliata, sp. nov., F. M. Reader. 



An elegant, tall, rather slender, perennial grass. Rootstock 

 creeping, thickened ; rootlets densely invested with greyish or 

 brown fibrils. 



Culms from about i}4-$ feet high, smooth, striate, and 

 furrowed, occasionally proliferous at the nodes and geniculate 

 towards the base. Culms and leaves frequently glaucous. 



Leaves flat, often involute when dry, from yk-3/% of an inch 

 wide, the lower upwards to 2 feet long, the upper gradually 

 shorter ; margin and lower side scabrous. 



Ligule broad, ^ inch long, jagged, without cilige. 



Panicle frequently of a purplish colour, long, erect, shining, 

 from under 1 foot to 20 inches long, finally much spreading. 

 Branches verticillate, long, capillary, scabrous. 



Spikelets usually truncate at the base, }£-% inch long, on 

 short or long capillary pedicels. 



Empty glumes, with usually three unequal teeth, ciliolate 

 towards the summit ; teeth crested with minute cilise. 



Outer empty glume y 2 inch long, moderately and gradually 

 attenuated, strongly three-veined ; central vein ciliolate at the 

 back, secondary veins only slightly ciliolate. 



Inner glume shorter, fi inch long, blunt, strongly three or 

 four-veined. 



Flowering glume invested with greyish appressed or somewhat 

 spreading hairs, with a circle of short hairs at the base. 



Awn capillary, from 2 3 inches long, tortuous below, slightly 

 bent below the middle, beset with short hairs to the bent, 

 scabrous above. 



Palea shorter than the glume, broad linear, two-veined, ciliolate 

 at the back and summit. 



