GRAMINE. 839) * 
probably not less than 3500. In usefulness to man it is exceeded by no other 
order. The nutritious herbage forms the chief pasturage of our flocks and herds ; 
the cereal grains, as wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, millet, maize, &c., constitute 
a very large proportion of our food; sugar is obtained from the sugar-cane and 
sorghum ; while few plants are applied to a greater variety of uses than the 
various kinds of bamboos. Many species are cultivated for ornamental purposes, 
from the dwarf varieties used for edgings and lawns to the pampas-grass and 
giant-bamboo. Of the 33 indigenous genera, one only (Simplicia) is endemic; 4 
(Microlena, Echinopogon, Dichelachne, and Amphitromus) are found elsewhere 
in Australia and Tasmania alone ; and 2 others (Ehrharta and Asperella) have a 
very restricted range, but are not indigenous in Australia. The remaining 26 
are widely distributed in either temperate or tropical regions or in both, and 
some are cosmopolitan. In addition to the indigenous species, a large number 
of grasses have become naturalised, and every year adds to the list. Most of 
these are natives of the Northern Hemisphere, and many have been purposely 
introduced and widely spread through the country on account of their value for 
pasturage or fodder. The remainder are either weeds of cultivation or inhabit- 
ants of waste-places or roadsides, a large proportion having followed the foot- 
steps of civilised man all round the world. A few Australian and subtropical 
species have also established themselves, but the number of these is not nearly 
so large as might have been anticipated. Many of the naturalised species have 
so completely amalgamated with the indigenous flora as to present all the 
appearance of true natives, and will certainly be taken as such by a beginner 
unacquainted with their history. It will therefore be advisable, when determin- 
ing any species, to make frequent reference to the list of naturalised species given 
in another part of this work, and to become acquainted with their distinguishing 
characters, which, in the majority of cases, can be learned from any British 
Flora. 
I am deeply indebted to Professor EH. Hackel, of St. Poelten, Austria, so 
well known for his wide acquaintance with the order, for undertaking a critical 
examination of the whole of the New Zealand species, and for furnishing me 
with very full and complete notes, with permission to use the same for the pur- 
poses of this work. In drawing up the following account I have largely availed 
myself of the results of his work, and with few exceptions have adopted the 
systematic disposition of the species recommended by him. 
Division A. PANICACAL. 
Spikelets articulated on their pedicels below the glumes and fall- 
ing away at maturity; usually 2-flowered, the upper flower perfect 
and producing seed, the lower flower always male; rhachilla not 
continued beyond the upper flower. 
Trine 1. ANDROPOGONE A. 
Spikelets usually 1-flowered, generally in pairs, rarely in threes or solitary, 
on the rhachis of a spike or branches of a panicle, all hermaphrodite or some of 
them male, in the latter case so placed that a male spikelet stands by the side of 
a hermaphrodite one. Flowering glumes hyaline, often awned, usually much 
smaller than the empty ones. 
Panicle long, dense, cylindrical. Spikelets awnless, almost 
concealed by long silky hairs ae be .. 1. ImpErRata. 
Trise II, ZOYSIEA. 
Spikelets usually 1-flowered, solitary or in clusters on the rhachis of a spike 
or raceme. Flowering glumes membranous, never awned, usually smaller 
than the outer glumes. 
