ERIOCAULACEA.— RESTIACEX.—DESVAUXIACEA. 729 
Order 1. ErtocavuLace®, the Eriocaulon or Pipewort Order. 
Character. —Aquatic or marsh plants. — Leaves clustered, 
linear, usually grass-like. Flowers minute, unisexual, in dense 
heads, each flower arising from the axil of a membranous bract. 
Pevianth membranous, tubular, 2—3-toothed or lobed. Stamens 
2—6; anthers 2-celled, introrse. Ovary superior, 2—3-celled. 
Fruit dehiscent, 2—3-celled, 2—3-seeded. Seeds pendulous, 
albuminous, hairy or winged ; embryo lenticular, at the end of 
the albumen remote from the hilum. 
Distribution, Numbers, and Properties. —Mostly natives of 
tropical America, and the North of Australia. One species is 
found in Britain—FHriocaulon septangulare, With. The order 
contains about 200 species. Their properties are unimportant. 
Order 2. Restiacea, the Restio Order.—Character.— 
Herbs or undershrubs. Leaves simple and narrow, or entirely 
absent. Stems stiff, either naked, or more commonly with slit 
convolute leaf-sheaths. Flowers with glumaceous bracts, spiked 
or aggregated, generally unisexual. No true perianth, its place 
being usually supplied by 2—6 glumes. Stamens 2—8, adherent 
to the inner glumes, or the latter are sometimes absent ; anthers 
generally 1-celled. Ovary 1—3-celled, with 1 pendulous ovule 
in each cell. Fywit capsular or nut-like. Seed solitary, pendu- 
lous, albuminous ; embryo lenticular, terminal. 
Distribution and Numbers.—Natives principally of South 
- Africa, South America, and Australia. Some are also found in 
the tropical parts of Asia; but none occur in Europe. Jllus- 
trative Genera:—Leptocarpus, R. Br. ; Restio, Linn. There 
are about 180 species. 
Properties and Uses.—Unimportant. The wiry stems of 
some species have been used for basket-making, &c., and for 
thatching. 
Order 3. Desvaux1ace&, the Bristlewort Order. — Cha- 
racter.—Small Sedge-like herbs, with setaceous sheathing 
leaves. Flowers glumaceous, enclosed in a terminal spathe. 
Glumes 1 or 2. Palex none, or 1 or 2 scales parallel with the 
glumes. Stamens 1 or very rarely 2; anthers 1-celled. Carpels 
1—18, distinct or partially united, with 1 stigma and 1 pendu- 
lous ovule in each ovary. Fruit composed of as many utricles 
as there are carpels. Seeds albuminous; embryo lenticular, 
terminal. 
Distribution, Numbers, and Properties.—Natives of Australia 
and the South Sea Islands. Illustrative Genera :—-Desvauxia, 
R. Br.; Aphelia, R. Br. There are about 15 species. Their 
properties and uses are unknown. 
