726 JUNCACES, (Juncus. 
tinctly longer than the perianth, but specimens with a closer many-flowered 
inflorescence cannot be separated from J. effusus in the absence of ripe fruit. 
Buchenau’s var. Gunnii appears to be a mere form differing slightly in the 
‘darker-coloured basal sheaths and flowers, and slightly longer capsule. 
3. J. vaginatus, &. Br. Prodr. 258.— Very densely tufted, 
rather stout, 2-3ft. high or even more. Rhizome stout, woody, 
creeping. Stems very closely packed on the rhizome, ;,—41n. 
diam., strict, erect, terete, finely striate; pith interrupted with 
irregular cavities; basal sheaths large, rather lax, smooth and 
shining and dark red-brown at the base, pale straw-coloured and 
distinctly grooved above. Inflorescence lateral, large, branched ; 
the branches few or many, stiff, erect, rather close together, bearing 
distinct compact globose many-flowered heads. Flowers j4,4in. 
long, pale-brown.  Perianth-segments lanceolate, acute, stra- 
mineous, the inner ones rather shorter than the outer. Stamens 
usually 3, rarely 6. Capsule equalling the perianth or only very 
slightly exceeding it, broadly oblong, obscurely trigonous, obtuse 
at the tip.—Benth. Fl. Austral. vu. 129; Buchen. in Engl. Bot. 
Jahr. xxi. (1895) 264. J. australis, Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. i. 66, 
t. 18a; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 289. 
Nort anD Soutu Istanps: Marshy places from the North Cape to Banks 
Peninsula, not uncommon. December—February. 
In referring Hooker's J. australis to the Australian J. vaginatus I have 
followed Buchenau’s recent memoir on the Australian Jwnci Genwini (Engl. 
Bot. Jahr. 1895), and the opinion expressed by Mr. Rendle (Journ. Bot. 1900, 81). 
The New Zealand plant can generally be separated from J. effusus (polyanthe- 
mus, Buchen.) by the larger size, by the inflorescence being split up into distinct 
little rounded cymes or groups of flowers, and by the larger and rather narrower 
capsule ; but some states are difficult to place. Smaller and more slender forms 
show an approach to J. pauciflorus, but the capsule of that species usually much 
exceeds the perianth. 
4. J. effusus, Linn. Sp. Plant. 326.—Pale or brownish-green, 
very densely tufted, 1-3 ft. high. Rhizome short, stout, horizontal. 
Stems crowded on the rhizome, 4,-}in. diam., erect, soft or stiff 
and wiry, terete, finely striate; pith continuous or interrupted ; 
basal sheaths appressed, opaque, smooth below, grooved above. 
Inflorescence lateral; cymes lax or rather dense, much branched ; 
branches slender, unequal, often curved. Flowers numerous, small, 
7s-7y in. long, green or pale-chestnut, usually scattered along the 
branches of the cyme, rarely collected into separate groups. Peri- 
anth-segments equal or the outer rather longer, linear-lanceolate, 
acute, thin, margins membranous, scarious. Stamens 3, much 
shorter than the segments; anthers linear. Capsule about equal- 
ling the perianth, broadly oblong or obovoid, obscurely trigonous, 
obtuse or almost retuse at the tip, thin, shining, pale ferruginous or 
stramineous. Seeds numerous, obliquely obovoid, apiculate, pale 
ferruginous. — Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 263 (mm part); Buchen. 
