910 GRAMINEZ. [Poa. 
16. P. Kirkii, Buch. N.Z. Grasses, t. 518.—Culms tufted, erect, 
compressed, smooth, leafy, 3-5-noded, 6-18 in. high. Leaves much 
shorter than the culms, erect, 1-4 in. long, ;4—4 in. broad, linear, 
gradually tapering to an acuminate point, flat, smooth or the 
margins scabrid above, striate; sheaths compressed, grooved, the 
uppermost long, often sheathing the greater part of the culm; ligules 
long, membranous, erect. Panicle oblong or oblong-ovate, lax, 
erect, 2-5in. long; rhachis slender, flexuous, smooth or minutely 
scaberulous; branches in alternate pairs or in alternate fascicles of 
3-5, unequal, slender, sparingly divided, smooth or scaberulous. 
Spikelets elliptic-oblong, compressed, green or purplish-green, 
1+in. long, 3-5-flowered. Two outer glumes unequal, 4-2 the 
length of the whole spikelet, oblong-lanceolate, acute, 3-nerved, 
smooth or scabrid along the keel. Flowering glumes oblong-ovate, 
obtuse, prominently 5-nerved, smooth or minutely scabrid on the 
keel and nerves above, glabrous or rarely with a tuft of crisped 
hairs on the callus. Palea about + shorter than the glume, linear- 
oblong, ciliate on the keels. Anthers linear-oblong, ;4, in. long.— 
P. purpurea, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. (1877) 500 (name only). 
Var. Mackayi, Hack. MSS.—Taller and stouter; leaves often in. broad. 
Spikelets larger, 4in. long. Flowering glumes often with a tuft of long crisped 
hairs on the callus. Anthers ;,in. long.—P. Mackayi, Buch. N.Z. Grasses, 
t. 50a. 
Var. Collinsii, Hack. MSS.—Slender, pale-green, laxly tufted, 1-2 ft. high; 
nodes of the culm usually naked. Panicle 3-6in. long, very lax; branches 
long, slender. Spikelets as in the type, but rather larger.—P. Collinsii, Kirk ex 
Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxviii. (1896) 589 (name only). 
Nortu Istanp: Mount Egmont, Petrie! T. F. C.; Tararua Range, H. H. 
Travers! T. P. Arnold! SovutH Istanp: Abundant in subalpine localities 
throughout. Var. Collinsti : Mount Fyffe (Marlborough), Kirk! Hooker Valley, 
AEE J (I 2000-5000 ft. 
A variable plant. Buchanan’s P. Mackayi looks different at first sight, 
from its larger spikelets and broader leaves, but is connected with the type by 
intermediate forms. On the Mount Arthur Plateau, Nelson, the two varieties 
can be seen to merge into one another. P. Collinsii is a taller and more slender 
plant, with a larger and laxer panicle, but the structure of the spikelets is the 
same as in the type. P. Kirkw is a valuable grass for all kinds of stock in cool 
elevated localities, and is well worth cultivation. 
17. P. Lindsayi, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 340.—Culms nu- 
merous, densely tufted, very slender. erect, quite smooth, leafy at 
the base, naked above, 38-12in. high. Leaves much shorter than 
the culms, $-3in. long, very narrow, flat or involute, soft and 
flaccid, quite smooth, pale-green or bluish-green; sheaths short or 
the upper alone long, narrow, grooved ; ligules oblong, membranous, 
hyaline. Panicle broadly ovate or oblong, erect, lax, 1-4in. long; 
rhachis slender, smooth; branches rather distant, binate or ternate, 
spreading, very slender, capillary, smooth or scaberulous, simple or 
sparingly divided, bearing a few spikelets towards the tip. Spike- 
