Schenus. | CYPERACER. 783 
’ 
6. S. apogon, Roem and Schult. Syst. ii. 77.—Stems very nu- 
merous, crowded, weak, slender, sometimes almost filiform, grooved, 
leafy at the base, 6-14 in. long. Leaves much shorter than the stems, 
narrow-linear, acute, almost flaccid, channelled in front, convex 
and striate on the back. Spikelets lnear-lanceolate, chestnut- 
brown or almost black, $-4 in. long, 1-3-flowered, few or many to- 
gether in irregular more or less compact umbels or heads, which 
are both terminal and lateral from the upper leaf-sheaths; bracts 
leafy. Glumes distichous, oblong-lanceolate, acute, keeled, almost 
black with narrow pale margins; the 3 outer empty, usually 
much smaller. Hypogynous bristles 6, not much exceeding the 
nut. Stamens 3. Style-branches usually 3. Nut small, broadly 
oblong-obovoid, obtusely trigonous, conspicuously reticulated, white. 
—S. Brownii, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 298; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 
373. Chztospora imberbis, &. Br. Prodr. 233; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. 
meri 2s: Fl. Tasm. i. 82. 
Var. laxiflorus,C. B. Clarke. —Stems very slender, lax, sometimes 2 ft. 
long. Inflorescence much more lax; clusters mostly lateral; spikelets often 
long-peduncled.—S. laxiflorus, Steud. Cyp. 166. 8S. vaccilans, Kirk in Trans. 
N.Z. Inst. x. (1878) 421. 
Norru Isnanp: Auckland — Mongonui, 7. #. C.; Puhipuhi, Kirk ; Wha- 
ngarei, Carse! vicinity of Auckland, 7. F. C., Petrie! Kast Coast, Colenso! 
Var. laxiflorus: Between Taheke and Opanake, Petrie! ravines near the base 
of Mount Wynyard, Kirk! between Te Aroha and Katikati, Adams! Taranaki 
—White Cliffs, 7. F.C. SoutH Isuanp: Canterbury — Kowai Pass, Kirk! 
(the typical form). Sea-level to 2000 ft. December—March. 
Common in eastern Australia, from Queensland to Tasmania. 
7. S. nitens, Pow. Encycl. Swppl. ii. 251.—Rhizome slender, 
creeping. Stems densely tufted, slender, wiry, grooved, leafy at 
the base, 2-12in. high. Leaves few, shorter than the stems, 
semiterete, deeply channelled in front, grooved on the back; 
sheaths chestnut-brown or blackish-brown, shining, grooved. In- 
florescence a terminal head of 1-15 densely crowded and sessile 
spikelets ; bracts 4-lin. long, exceeding the spikelets, continuous 
with the stem, so that the head appears lateral. Spikelets ovoid to 
lanceolate-ovoid, somewhat turgid, $-tin. long, 2- or more rarely 
3-flowered, chestnut-brown to blackish-brown. Glumes 4-6, ob- 
scurely distichous, broadly ovate, obtuse, concave, keeled, shining ; 
the 2 or rarely the 3 outer smaller and empty. Hypogynous bristles 
6, usually longer than the nut, plumose at the base with long hairs. 
Stamens 3. Style-branches 3. Nut ovoid, obscurely trigonous, 
smooth and shining, pale-brown to dark-brown.—Hook. f. Handb. 
N.Z. Fl. 299; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 362. 8. Moorei, Kirk in 
Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 384 (not of Benth.). Cheetospora nitens, 
&. Br. Prodr. 233; Hook: f. Fl. Nov. Zel.i. 274; Fl. Tasm. ii, 82. 
Scirpus nitens, Boeck. in Linnea, xxxvi. (1869-70) 696. 
