Victorian Plants. 467 



Stems slender, bearing a cluster of small spikelets. 



Never very tall ; shoots creeping ; stems rather rigid, gene- 

 rally somewhat compressed ; leaves almost undeveloped, 

 but the floral one terminating the stem ; spikelets many, 

 in an infra-terminal cluster; floral bracts dark-brown; 

 rudimentary sepals and petals absent ; stigmas three ; 

 fruit on an elevated base, inequally triangular, shining. 



S nodosns. 



1982. Stems somewhat robust. 



Tufted ; stems cylindric, lax, of soft texture, streaked, partly 

 somewhat prostrate ; basal leaves undeveloped, generally 

 a mere leaf -stalk developed also towards the middle of the 

 stem ; floral leaf much elongated, comparatively thick, 

 continuing the stem often very much beyond the inflores- 

 cence ; spikelets two to six together, sessile, rather long, 

 narrow- or cylindric -ellipsoid ; seldom a solitary flower 

 developed also from the inner base of the stalk of a radical 

 leaf ; floral bracts pointed, often pale, rather fugacious ; 

 rudimentary sepals and petals often absent ; stamens three 

 or occasionally two ; stigmas three or two ; fruit tri- or 

 bi-angular, blackish, transversely rugular-striate. 



S. supinus. 



Stems quite thin ... ... ... ... ... 1983 



1983. Often creeping and floating ... ... ... ... 1984 



Often simply tufted ... 1985 



1984. Spikelet usually very small, few-flowered. 



Shoots often elongated, very thin ; stems solitary, short and 

 quite thin ; leaves short, thinly linear-filiform, often only 

 one or two or three at each node ; floral leaf generally un- 

 developed ; spikelet terminal, solitary ; floral bracts faintly 

 streaked, blunt, usually pale ; rudimentary sepals and 

 petals absent ; stamens three ; stigmas two ; fruit flat, 

 pale, orbicular-obovate, thin-edged, slightly pointed. 



S. fluitans. 



Spikelet usually conspicuous, many-flowered. 



Alpine ; seldom floating, but emitting elongated shoots ; 

 stems very short, thin, solitary ; leaves thinly linear, 

 never numerous from any of the nodes or for any of the 

 stems ; floral leaf undeveloped ; spikelet terminal, solitary; 

 floral bracts blunt, rather strongly streaked, greenish with 

 a brown tinge ; rudimentary sepals and petals absent ; 

 stamens three ; stigmas two ; fruit almost orbicular, flat, 

 rather thick-edged, pale. (Perhaps a variety of the pre- 

 ceding.) S. crassiusculus. 



