Australian Grasses. 



AMPHIPOGON, R. Br. 



(Referring to the hairs round the rhachis of the spikelet.) 



SPIKELETS one-flowered, nearly sessile in a dense panicle contracted into a 

 head or short spike, the rhachis of the spikelet articulate above the two 

 outer glumes, and not continued beyond the flower. Glumes three, two 

 outer persistent, membranous, three-nerved, acute or tapering to an awn- 

 like point, rarely three-fid ; flowering glume raised on a short hairy stipes 

 (the rhachis of the spikelet), closed round the flower, deeply divided into 

 three narrow lobes tapering into straight points or awns. Palea usually as 

 long as the flowering glume, deeply divided into two narrow rigid lobes or 

 awns. Styles united at the base, free upwards. Grain enclosed in the 

 slightly hardened upper glume. Perennial grasses with convolute terete or 

 subulate leaves. 



Amphipogon strictus, R. Br. (Referring to its upright growth.) 

 " Bearded Heads." Stems from a horizontal rhizome or tufted branching 

 base, erect and slender, usually above 1 foot high. Leaves rather short, 

 erect, subulate, glabrous. Spike-like panicle dense, oblong or cylindrical, 

 ^ inch to 1^ inches long, but little branched. Outer glumes broad, concave, 

 faintly three-nerved, almost scarious, entire when perfect ; the outer one 

 about 2 lines long, the inner one rather longer and more acute. Flowering 

 glume on the short hairy stipes shorter than the outer glume, with two short 

 rows of hairs on the back, divided into three rigid ciliate linear lobes or 

 awns longer than the entire part. Palea narrow, deeply divided into two 

 rigid lobes similar to those of the flowering glume. Seed separable from 

 the membranous pericarp. 



This perennial grass is found all over Australia, from the coastal districts 

 to the arid interior. As might be supposed, a grass growing under such 

 varied conditions of soil and climate is very variable as regards its stature and 

 the size of its inflorescence. I have received specimens from the Darling 

 River, in New South Wales, for identification that were over two feet high, 

 and others from different parts of the country that were only about 6 inches 

 high when in flower. This species was collected in the Victoria Desert by the 

 Elder exploring expedition. Although there are several forms of the grass, 

 none of them afford a great amount of herbage, and what there is, is often 

 harsh and wiry. The grass will withstand a phenomenal amount of dry 

 weather, however, and often when many other kinds of herbage are dried up 

 it may be seen beautifully green, then stock will eat it ; so that on this 

 account it proves of some value in pastures, especially in the interior, during 

 adverse seasons. Whether there is any nutriment in the herbage, however, 

 I am not prepared to say. It is not a grass which I would recommend for 

 cultivation, though it may be worth conserving with other grasses in the arid 

 interior for the reasons stated above. It produces a fair amount of seed, 

 which usually ripens in the interior during November and December, and in 

 the coastal districts one month or two months later. 



Reference to plate. A, Spikelet opened out. B, Flowering glume, flattened out; c, Palea 

 flattened out. D, Showing grain covered with membranous pericarp. E, Grain, back and 

 front views. All variously magnified. 



