72 
Stems creeping or diffuse, shortly ascending ; leaves hairy, rhachis 
of the spike ciliate, outer glume wrinkled on the base, i 
awn shortly exserted ... ss : a 6. I. coltiare. 
Sessile spikelet two-flowered, awned ; pedicellate spikelet unawned, 
with a male or without any flower ; spike solitary. 
Pedicellate spikeJet without flowers ; spike slender ; sessile spike- 
lets flat, closely appressed, pectinate-ciliate on each side ; 
no awn ... Be? ... 8. I. pectinatum. 
Pedicellate spikelets lanceolate, flattened, with two male flowers 10. L. laxum. 
3. Ischemum triticeum, R.Br. 
Botanical name.—Ischemum, said to be from wschemon, a plant re- 
ferred to by Pliny: “A herb like a hyrse, having sharp leaves and 
moss; it is good to stop blood.’ It is said that the woolly seeds of 
one of the species were used as astyptic ; triticewm, Latin, wheat-like. 
Vernacular Name.—‘‘ Wheat Grass.” 
Botanical description (B. F1., vii, 519).—Very near I. muticum, but a 
coarse plant, ascending to 2 or 3 feet. 
Leaves mostly long and broad, contracted at the base or scarcely cordate, glabrous 
or the lower sheaths hairy. 
Spikes two together, 3 to 4 inches long. 
Spikelets 4 to 5 lines long, more acuminate than in J. muticum. 
Outer glume smooth and shining at the base, several-nerved, and often ciliate, with a 
few hairs at the end, the wings of the lateral nerves often unequal. 
Inner glumes rather rigid, the third with a rigid palea and male flower, the fourth 
under the terminal flower more hyaline, shortly two-fid, the awn usually exserted 
and sometimes 4 inch long. 
Pedicellate spikelet nearly similar, but, as in 7. muticum rather narrower, the wings 
and nerves irregular, and the awn often shorter. 
Value as a fodder.—A. coarse grass, of but little value for fodder. 
Habitat and range-—A common coast grass in Queensland and 
Northern New South Wales. 
4. Ischemum australe, R.Br. 
Botanical name.—Australe, Latin, southern (Australian). 
Botanical description (B. Fl., vii, 519).— 
Stems from a shortly decumbent base or creeping rhizome erect, 2 to 3 feet high, but 
not stout. 
Leaves rather narrow, glabrous or slightly hairy in the typical form, the nodes 
always bearded, the upper sheaths very long. 
Spikes two together on a long peduncle, sessile and erect, 14 to 3 inches long, the 
rhachis and pedicels slightly ciliate. 
Spikelets 3 lines long or scarcely more, otherwise the same as in J. triticewm. 
Awn of the sessile spikelet to } inch long, of the pedicellate spikelet shorter or 
reduced to a short point. 
Value as a fodder.—A coarse, harsh grass, only nutritious when 
young; when old, stock never touch it except when hard pressed. 
Bailey remarks that it has a deep-running rhizome, and is thus enabled 
to stand a length of dry weather, and continue to afford a bite for 
stock after others havé given up. Mr. Seccombe, with admittedly 
limited experience of it, speaks of it as a valuable acquisition, growing 
