804 CYPERACEZE. [ Uncinia. 
The best characters of this variable species are the tall leafy habit, narrow 
flat leaves, long and linear very lax spike, and pale glumes always shorter than 
the utricles. The typical state occurs in Victoria and Tasmania; var. Banksit 
is endemic. 
10. U. rubra, Boott in Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i, 287.— 
Whole plant red, red-purple, or brownish-red, usually forming 
a continuous sward. Culms 6-14in. high, stout or slender, 
strict, rigid, leafy at the base, trigonous and scabrid above. 
Leaves much shorter than the culms, rarely equalling or 
exceeding them, flat or slightly involute, rigid or submem- 
branous, striate, j~,- 7; in. broad; margins scabrid. Spike 
1-2 in. long, rigid, linear, lax, continuous or slightly interrupted 
towards the base; male portion short; bract wanting. Glumes 
oblong-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, rigid, red or red-brown, slightly 
exceeding the utricle, obscurely 1-nerved on the back. Utricle 
lanceolate, tapering at both ends, glabrous, faintly nerved, about 
tin. long; bristle nearly twice as long as the utricle-—Hook. f. 
Handb. N.Z. Fl. 310; C. B. Clarke in Journ. Linn. Soc. xx. 390. 
Var. rigida.—Very densely tufted, forming tussocks similar to those of 
a Juncus. Culms and leaves rigid, strict, erect, wiry, deeply grooved, the leaves 
deeply concave or involute. Spike 14-3in. long; bract leafy, usually exceeding 
the spike.—U. rigida, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvii. (1884) 271 (not of Boeck.). 
NortH Isxtanp: Plains near Lake Taupo, summit of Titiokura, Colenso ! 
SoutH Istanp: Not uncommon in mountain districts. 500-4500 ft. De- 
cember—February. 
This is referred to U. riparia as var. rubra by Kukenthal, an opinion with 
which I cannot concur. It appears to me to be quite as distinct as most of 
the New Zealand species. 
11. U. rupestris, Raoul, Choia Pl. Nouv. Zel. 13, t. 54.—Culms 
densely tufted, slender, leafy at the base, 3-12in. high. Leaves 
usually longer than the culms, flat or slightly involute, 3,—,in. 
broad; margins scabrid. Spike 4-2 in. long, 4,4 in. broad, linear, 
lax, continuous or slightly interrupted below ; male portion usually 
i the length of the spike; bract often wanting, but sometimes 
present and exceeding the spike. Glumes lanceolate, acute, mem- 
branous, greenish-brown or chestnut, 1-nerved on the back, slightly 
shorter than the utricle; margins narrow, hyaline or scarious. 
Utricle lanceolate, attenuate above, quite glabrous, faintly nerved, 
about 4in. long; bristle about twice as long as the utricle.—Boott 
in Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 286; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 310; 
C. B. Clarke in Journ. Linn. Soc. xx. 392. U. Hookeri, Boott in 
Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 91, t. 51. 
NortH Istanp: Ruahine Mountains, Colenso! sources of the Tukituki 
River, inland Patea, Petrie! Tararua Mountains, H. H. Travers! SoutH 
Istanp : Nelson— Mount Arthur Plateau, 7. F’. C. Westland—Okarito, A. 
Hamilton! Otago—Not uncommon, Petrie! Kirk! Svrewarr Istanp: Kirk! 
Petrie! P. Goyen! AUCKLAND AND CAMPBELL Istanps: Hooker, Kirk! Sea- 
level to 3500 ft. December—January. 
