103 



Glumes all thin, almost hyaline, rather shining; outer empty ones in the typical form 

 about 3 lines long, the short lateral nerve on each side more prominent in the 

 second than in the outermost one. 



Third and fourth glumes each with a male flower, nearly as long as the outer ones, 

 ciliate on the margins and keels, with a short awn arising from a little below the 

 tip, the rhachis of the spikelet shortly lengthened between and above the male 

 glumes. 



Fifth and sixth glumes enclosing the grain obtuse and perfectly glabrous, or the fifth 

 slightly hairy at the end with the keel produced into a minute point. 



Value as a fodder. Believed to be nutritious as a fodder, but quite 

 harsh when old. It is one of the few grasses which grow in cold 

 moorland, and hence valuable in that respect. Its odour of Coumarin 

 (pleasing to cattle when not too strong), renders it an acceptable 

 ingredient of hay, and it often renders damaged hay more palatable to 

 stock. 



Habitat and range. Found in Tasmania, Victoria, and New South 

 Wales. In our own Colony it is found in the southern mountain dis- 

 tricts. It also occurs in New Zealand and Antarctic America. 



2. Hierochloe rariflora, Hook., f. 



Botanical names. Rariflora, from two Latin words, signifying thin 

 or loose (inflorescence), in allusion to the panicle. The word rarus is 

 the opposite of the word densus, which signifies dense. 



Vernacular names. Usually known as ' f Scented-grass " but some- 

 times as " Wire-grass " for obvious reasons. 



Where figured. Hooker, Fl. Tasmania ; Agricultural Gazette. 



Botanical description (B. Fl., vii, 559). 



Stems slender, branching, 2 to 3 feet high. 



Leaves narrower than in II. redolens, tapering into long subulate points. 



Panicle loose and spreading, 2 to 3 inches long. 



Spikelets all on slenner pedicles, often variegated from the contrast of the purplish 

 outer glumes and pale-coloured upper ones. 



Glumes. Outer persistent glumes broad, obtuse, the lowest about 1| lines long, the 

 second rather large and three-nerved ; intermediate male glumes about 2 lines 

 long, rather rigid, five-nerved, obtuse, and awnless, finely and shortly ciliate 

 on the margins, and sometimes on the keel. 



Fifth glume very broad, thin, obtuse, glabrous, five-nerved. 



Sixth glume much narrower, keeled, but the lateral nerves scarcely visible. 

 Botanical note. Dr. (now Sir Joseph) Hooker, who first described 

 this grass from a Tasmanian specimen, speaks of it as " a very distinct 

 species, conspicuous for its slender, branched, leafy, knotted culms, 

 2 to 3 feet long, its narrow, strict rigid leaves rough to the touch, 

 and small loose panicles of small spikelets on long flexuous branches/' 

 This is a brief popular description which could not readily be 

 improved upon. 



Value as fodder. We have practically no data as to the specific 

 fodder-value of our Scented-grass, and therefore we must fall back 

 upon comparisons with other grasses belonging to the same genus. 

 All Hierocliloes have a certain value as sweeteners of musty or other 



