Victorian Plants. 499 



2101. Stem-base and lowest leaf-stalks enveloped in a 

 whitish dense vestiture. 



Desert-plant, perennial, seldom tall, rather rigid, often of a 

 pale or dull-yellowish hue ; leaves narrow, longitudinally 

 involute, much pointed ; panicle short-branched ; spike- 

 lets conspicuously compressed, hardly provided with any 

 stalks of their own ; flowers sometimes very numerous, 

 rarely reduced to six, always closely approximated ; fruit- 

 supporting bract occasionally of a dull-purplish tinge, 

 their venular streaks rather prominent ; fruit ovate- 

 ellipsoid. E. chaetophylla. 



Stem-base and lowest leaf-stalks glabrous ... ... 2102 



5102. Spikelets conspicuously compressed, broadish. 



Rather tall, flowering for a long while ; leaves flat or oftener 

 somewhat inflexed along the margin ; panicle spreading, 

 almost straightly but rather scantily branched ; spikelets 

 often assuming a somewhat dark hue, occasionally 

 clustered, without any conspicuous stalks of their own ; 

 flowers seldom very numerous, always closely approxi- 

 mated ; stamens three or two ; fruit-supporting bract 

 prominently venular-streaked ; fruit ovate-ellipsoid. 



E. Brownii. 



Spikelets almost cylindrical, very narrow ... ... 2103 



2103. Spikelets straight, the fruit-supporting bracts faintly 

 streaked. 



Perennial, seldom tall ; stems very thin ; leaves very narrow, 

 longitudinally involute, pointed ; panicle rather con- 

 tracted, short-branched ; spikelets straight, provided 

 with short stalks of their own ; flowers many ; fruit- 

 supporting bract almost blunt. E. lacunaria. 



Spikelets curved, the fruit-supporting bracts strongly 

 streaked. 



Desert-plant, perennial, seldom tall ; stems very thin ; 

 leaves short and narrow, longitudinally involute, pointed ; 

 panicle short-branched, moderately spreading ; spikelets 

 perceptively curved, without any conspicuous stalks of 

 their own ; flowers many, sometimes very numerous, 

 always closely approximated ; anthers very short ; fruit- 

 supporting bract almost blunt ; fruit ovate-ellipsoid. 



E. falcata. 



