Australian Grasses. 11 



Anthistiria membranacea, Lindl. (Referring to tlie thin glumes.) 

 " Landsborough G-rass." Quite glabrous, sometimes forming dense, leafy 

 tufts of 6 inches, the branching stems often elongated to 1 foot or 2 feet. 

 Leaves flat, appearing almost articulate on the short, flat, prominently striate 

 sheaths. Moral leaves or bracts with coriaceous sheaths and short lanceolate 

 laminae. Panicles small, dense, almost cyme-like, as in Apluda, with very 

 numerous small spikes or clusters, each subtended by a scarcely longer 

 bract. Spikelets scarcely 2 lines long, glabrous, the four involucral ones 

 pedicellate, the fertile one rather longer than the two pedicellate barren ones 

 beside it. Grlumes all thin, the outer one acute with several green nerves ; 

 the second with one or three nerves, the awn very fine, scarcely more than 

 as long again as the spikelet. Grain enclosed in the hardened outer glumes, 

 but free from them. 



An annual species found in the arid interior of all the Australian colonies 

 except Victoria. It is fairly plentiful in many parts of the continent, and it 

 is generally found growing 011 rich soils. It generally grows in small tufts, 

 but in a favourable season the weak stems lengthen out very much, and 

 form an entangled mass often over a foot deep. It is essentially a summer- 

 growing species, and generally makes most of its growth during the hottest 

 part of the season. I have had this grass under experimental cultivation, 

 and raised an excellent crop of herbage in less than three months from seed. 

 It was grown on a black, loamy soil, and during a period of very dry weather 

 it produced a great amount of rich, succulent herbage, which horses were 

 very fond of. When cut, just as the flower stems first appeared, it made 

 excellent hay. It is worthy of extensive cultivation in the arid interior, 

 either for temporary pasture or to be cut at the proper time, and made into 

 hay. It is considered a most nutritious grass, and towards autumn it often 

 gets so exceedingly dry and brittle that it breaks up .in to innumerable pieces, 

 but even then stock of all kinds are said to be so fond of it that they lick 

 the broken stems and leaves from the ground. There would be no difficulty 

 in bringing this species under systematic cultivation, for, under ordinary 

 circumstances, it produces an abundance of seed, which usually ripens in 

 November, December, and January. If a large quantity of seed is required, 

 it would be advisable to fence off a small area where the grass grows plenti- 

 fully, from which as much ripe seed could be gathered as would sow an 

 immense area. 



Reference to plate. A, Compound cluster of spikelets. B, Cluster of male or barren 

 spikelets and the fertile one, opened out to show how they are arranged, c, Fertile spikelet, 

 opened out to show the three glumes and terminal awn. D, Male spikelet, opened out to 

 show three glumes. E, Grain, back and front views. All variously magnified. 



