PLATE 198. 



ARISTIDA AKGUSTATA, Stapf. (Fl. Cap., Vol. VII., p 556). 

 Nat. Order Gramineee. 



PERENNIAL, densely crespitose, light green or glaucous. 



CULMS very slender, terete, erect, simple or very scantily branched, wiry, 1 to 

 Ij foot long, about 3-noded, internodes exserted ; sheaths very tight, often slightly . 

 widened at the base, the lower sometimes woolly. 



BLADES setaceously convolute, rather fine, up to \ foot long, curved or 

 flexuous, smooth below, densely pubescent or hispidulous and almost white above. 



PANICLE very narrow, often spike-like, 2 to 4 inches long ; rhachis straight or 

 flexuous ; branches solitary, the longest up to 1^ inch long, scantily branched ; 

 branch lets filiform ; lateral pedicels very short. 



SPIKELETS yellowish, 4j to 5^ lines long. 



GLUMES unequal, oblong-linear, usually shortly mucronate, the lower 2 to 3|- 

 lines long, acute, the upper about 4 lines long, acute or minutely truncate. Valve 

 linear, convolute, produced into a short or usually very short beak (when of 

 sufficient length to be slightly exserted then more or less twisted), scaberulous 

 below the beak ; callus J line long ; awns continuous with the valve, divaricate, 

 5 to 7 lines long, fine ; pale hyaline, f line long; lodicules 5- nerved, | line long ; 

 anthers 1| to 2 lines long, not apiculate. 



Habitat I NATAL. Near Dundee, 4000-5000 feet alt , March, W. E. Green 

 112a; near Ladysmith, 3000 feet alt., December, Wood 9100 



In the dried state at least the nodes of this plant are very dark in colour, and 

 contrast very strongly with the pale yellow culms. 



The only South African habitats given in the Flora Capensis for this plant are 

 Cape Colony and Transvaal. 



Fig 1, Spikelet ; 2, lower glume ; 3, upper glume ; 4, valve ; 5, pale ; 6, pistil, stamens 

 and lodicules. All enlarged. 



