Plate 227.— DANTHONIA AUSTKALJS. 



Family GRAMINE^.] [Genus DANTHONIA, D.C. 



Danthonia australis, Duch. N.Z. Grasses, t. 31 ; Gheeseiii. Man. N.Z. Fl. 888. 



So far as I am aware, the first botanist to collect Danthonia australis was 

 Mr. J. Buchanan, who obtained it on the Kaikoura Mountains in 1867. In 1871 it 

 was observed by Mr. H. H. Travers on the mountains above Lake Guyon, in southern 

 Nelson ; and in the same year was described by Mr. Buchanan "as a variety of 

 D. Raoulii (Trans. N.Z. Inst, iv (1872), 224). Additional specimens and informa- 

 tion soon convinced Mr. Buchanan that it was deserving of recognition as a distinct 

 species, and it was accordingly published in his " Grasses of New Zealand " under 

 the name it now bears. 



The most northern habitat that I am acquainted with for I), australis is the 

 Mount Arthur Plateau, Nelson, where I gathered it many years ago. I have also 

 observed it in many other localities in the Nelson Provincial District, as the Dun 

 Mountain Range, Mount Owen, the mountains flanking the Wairau Valley, and 

 those overlooking the Clarence and Waiau Valleys. Mr. Townson found it an 

 abundant grass on the higher slopes of the Paparoa Range, to the south of the 

 Buller River, and I have seen specimens gathered on the Hurunui Mountains, in 

 North Canterbury. Probably it extends still further south on the Canterbury 

 mountains. It is most abundant between 3,000 ft. and 4,500 ft. altitude, but 

 ascends to quite 6,000 ft. in several localities in Nelson. 



In the Nelson mountains D. australis has received the local names of " carpet- 

 grass " or " hassock-grass." It often covers large areas on the steep slopes of the 

 mountains at altitudes above 4,000 ft., forming a close and dense covering of 

 compacted stems and leaves, which usually all point downhill, especially after the 

 melting of the snow in early summer. Hence it is not easy to cross these slopes 

 without the chance of a slide or tumble. According to Mr. Buchanan, the lower 

 parts of the stems and leaves, which are blanched and succulent, are much relished 

 as food by rats. 



Plate 227. Danthonia australis, drawn from specimens collected on the Mount Arthur Plateau, 

 Nelson, at an altitude of 4,000 ft. Fig. 1, tip of leaf (x 4) ; 2, ligule of leaf (x 4) ; 3, spikelet (x 3) ; 

 4, outer glume (x 4) ; 5, a single flower removed from the spikelet (x 4) ; 7 and 8, difierent views of 

 palea (x 4) ; 9, lodicule (x 4) ; 10, anther (x 4) ; 11, ovary and styles (x 4). 



