Graminee. | FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. 295 
l. Apera arundinacea, Hook. fil.; glaberrima, levis, rhizomate repente, culmis basi squamatis 
elongatis gracilibus strictis rigidis tenacissimis simplicibus v. ad nodos remotos ramosis foliosis, foliis superne 
scaberulis involutis coriaceis vaginis elongatis, panicula elongata ramis capillaribus primariis verticillatis, 
spiculis parvis pallidis, glumis setaceo-acuminatis superiore obscure 3-nervi, carinis scaberulis, flore breviter 
stipitato callo glaberrimo, palea inferiore coriacea involuta nervis obscuris apice scaberula obtusa incrassata 
aristata, arista caduca terminali scabra glumis duplo longiore, superiore paulo breviore bidentata, squamulis 
2 basi connatis, stamine 1, anthera brevi. (Tas. LX VIL.) 
Has. Northern and Middle Islands; Cape Turnagain, Colenso; Akaroa, Raoul. Nat. name, “ Hu- 
nangamoho," Col. E 
A very remarkable and handsome Grass, forming immense tufts of long, nodding culms on the tops of hills, 
ete.— Culms 2-5 feet high, very slender, rigid and reed-like, arising from a creeping rhizome, quite smooth, sheathed 
at the base, leafy at the distant joints, and sometimes branched. Sheaths of leaves long; ligula short, truncate ; 
lamina coriaceous, narrow, involute, the upper surface slightly scabrid to the touch. Panicle thin, erect, wiry, 
8-16 inches long; primary branches whorled at the knotted joints, capillary, the branchlets whorled, pedicels 
alternate. Spikelets minute, 14 line long, pale, shining. Glumes nearly equal, longer than the flower, acuminate, 
smooth, with a scabrid keel, upper faintly three-nerved. Lower palea coriaceous, opaque, on a short glabrous callus, 
thickened and rough at the top, blunt, furnished with a rigid, caducous, scabrid awn. Scales two, linear, connate 
at the base. Stamen one. Anther short. Ovary pedicelled, with short feathery stigmas. Caryopsis curved, trun- 
cate. —PLATE LXVII. Fig. 1, spikelet; 2, floret; 3, upper palea; 4, stamen; 5, germen; 6, scales; 7, seed : — 
all magnified. 
Gen. XII. SPOROBOLUS, Br. 
Gluma \-flore, carinate, inferior minor. Palee 2, mutice: inferior acutiuscula ; superior minor, 
bicarinata. Sguamule 9. Stamina 2-3. Caryopsis libera, epicarpio laxo solubili.—Folia plana v. convo- 
luta. Spicule minuta, pedicellate, lave v. dense paniculate ; panicula interdum spicaformis. 
Tropical and subtropical Grasses, found in all parts of the world within the above limits, differing from Apera 
in the very minute flowers that have awnless glumes and pales. Spikelets panicled, often very densely, forming a 
cylindrical spike. Glumes one-flowered, keeled, the lower smallest.  Palee two, awnless, lower sharp, upper two- 
nerved. Scales two. Stamens two to three. Seed quite free, with a loose outer coat. (Name from omopos, a seed, 
and Bodos, a shedding ; from the fugacious seeds.) 
1. Sporobolus e/ongafus, Br.; panicula coarctata elongata e spicis alternis divisis, inferioribus distan- 
tibus.— Br. Prodr. p. 170. Kunth, Agrost. p. 213. 
Has. Northern Island; Auckland, Sinclair. 
A rigid, stout, perfectly smooth Grass, 1-2 feet high; abundant in all tropical countries, also found at the 
Cape of Good Hope and at Port Jackson. Leaves spreading; sheaths deeply furrowed; ligula short; lamina 
narrow, involute. Panicle 6 inches to a foot long, contracted, slender, of very numerous, small, pale green spikelets, 
z line long 
2 . 
Gen. XIII. AGROSTIS, Z. 
Glume 2, uniflore, subeeguales, carinatz, mutice, flore majores. Palee 2: inferior mutica v. dorso 
aristata ; arista haud tortili ; superior bicarinata, interdum minima v. obsoleta. Sguamule 2, subintegree. 
Stamina 8.  Caryopsis libera.—Gramina cespitosa ; foliis planis involutisve; paniculis diffuse ramosis ; 
ramis sepius verticillatis, rarius brevibus in spicam cylindraceam confertis. 
A large genus of Grasses, most abundant in temperate and cold climates, advancing nearer to either Pole than 
any other phenogamic plants do. Culms often tufted. Leaves flat or involute. Panicles lax or dense; branches 
