Plate 231.— POA CHEESEMANll. 



Family GRAMINE^.] [Genus POA, Linn. 



Poa Cheesemanii, Hack, m Trans. N .Z. Inst, xxxv (1903), 383 ; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 906. 



Poa Cheesemanii was first collected by myself in January, 1893, at Lake Tenny- 

 son, a picturesque sheet of water concealed in the heart of the Spenser Mountains, 

 and the source of the well-known Clarence River. At the time of ray visit a con- 

 siderable stretch of peaty and boggy soil near the lower end of the lake had been 

 temporarily protected from stock through the construction of a rabbit-fence, and 

 was occupied by an abundant growth of indigenous grasses, amongst which Hiero- 

 chloe Fraseri, Agrostis Dijeri, Koeleria Kurtzii, Poa Kirkii, and the present species 

 were conspicuous. But I did not notice the plant in any other locality in the district ; 

 and, so far as I am aware, it has not been found elsewhere on the eastern side of the 

 central chain of the Southern Alps. Mr. Townson, however, has supplied me with 

 specimens collected on the pakihi country to the south of Westport ; and I can 

 entertain no doubt that with proper search it will be observed in other stations on 

 the mountains of Nelson and North Canterbury. 



P. Cheesemanii was first distinguished as a species by Professor Hackel in 1903. 

 He compared it with the abundant and widely distributed P. anceps ; remarking, 

 however, that it can be separated from all the forms of that plant by its stoloniferous 

 rhizome, the rhizome of P. anceps being invariably tufted. P. Cheesemanii also 

 differs widely in habit and appearance, so that there is no fear of the two plants 

 being confounded. 



The general aspect of P. Cheesemanii leads \o the belief that it may possess 

 some value as a pasture-grass, but I have no evidence as to how far it is relished 

 by stock. 



Plate 231. Poa Cheesemanii, drawn from specimens collected at Lake Tennyson, Nelson, at an 

 altitude of .3,500 ft. Fig. 1, ligiile of leaf (x 4) ; 2, spikelet (x 4) ; 3, outer glume ( x 6) ; 4, inner 

 glume (x 6) ; 5, flowering-glume and palea ( x 6) ; 6, terminal flower of spikelet (x 6) ; 7, flowering- 

 glume (x 6); 8, palea (x6); 9, lodicules (xl2); 10, anther (x6); 11, ovary and styles (x 6); 

 12, grain (x 6). 



