72 



Stems creeping or diffuse, shortly ascending ; leaves hairy, rhachis 

 of the spike ciliate, outer glume wrinkled on the base, 

 awn shortly exserted ... ... ... ... ... ... 6. 7. ciliare. 



Sessile spikelet two-flowered, awned ; pedicellate spikelet unawned, 

 with a male or without any flower ; spike solitary. 



Pedicellate spikelet without flowers ; spike slender ; sessile spike- 

 lets flat, closely appressed, pectinate-ciliate on each side ; 

 no awn ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...8.7. pectinatum. 



Pedicellate spikelets lanceolate, flattened, with two male flowers 10. /. laxitm. 



3. Ischaemum triticeum, R.Br. 



Botanical name. Ischssmum, said to be from ischsemon, a plant re- 

 ferred to by Pliny : " A herb like a liyrse, having sharp leaves and 

 moss ; it is good to stop blood/' It is said that the woolly seeds of 

 one of the species were used as a styptic ; triticeum, Latin, wheat-like. 



Vernacular Name. <f Wheat Grass." 



Botanical description (B. FL, vii, 519). Yery near J. muticum, but a 

 coarse plant, ascending to 2 or 3 feet. 



Leaves mostly long and broad, contracted at the base or scarcely cordate, glabrous 



or the lower sheaths hairy. 

 Spikes two together, 3 to 4 inches long. 



Spikelets 4 to 5 lines long, more acuminate than in 7. muticum. 

 Outer glume smooth and shining at the base, several-nerved, and often ciliate, with a 



few hairs at the end, the wings of the lateral nerves often unequal. 

 Inner glumes rather rigid, the third with a rigid palea and male flower, the fourth 



under the terminal flower more hyaline, shortly two-fid, the awn usually exserted 



and sometimes inch long. 

 Pedicellate spikelet nearly similar, but, as in 7. muticum rather narrower, the wings 



and nerves irregular, and the awn often shorter. 



Value as a fodder. A coarse grass, of but little value for fodder. 

 Habitat and range. A common coast grass in Queensland and 

 Northern New South Wales. 



4, Isehaemum australe, R.Br. 



Botanical name. Australe, Latin, southern (Australian). 

 Botanical description (B. FL, vii, 519). 



Stems from a shortly decumbent base or creeping rhizome erect, 2 to 3 feet high, but 



not stout. 

 Leaves rather narrow, glabrous or slightly hairy in the typical form, the nodes 



always bearded, the upper sheaths very long. 

 Spikes two together on a long peduncle, sessile and erect, 1^ to 3 inches long, the 



rhachis and pedicels slightly ciliate. 



Spikelets 3 lines long or scarcely more, otherwise the same as in 7. triticeum. 

 Awn of the sessile spikelet to \ inch long, of the pedicellate spikelet shorter or 



reduced to a short point. 



"Value as a fodder. A coarse, harsh grass, only nutritious when 

 young ; when old, stock never touch it except when hard pressed. 

 Bailey remarks that it has a deep-running rhizome, and is thus enabled 

 to stand a length of dry weather, and continue to afford a bite for 

 stock after others have given up. Mr. Seccombe, with admittedly 

 limited experience of it, speaks of it as a valuable acquisition, growing 



