4 MICROUENA STIPOIDES. 



of one inch in length, awns included. Empty glumes, lowest pair very 

 minute, acute, deciduous ; two following seated at distant intervals on 

 the bearded rachis, scabrid, y-nerved. Flowering glume acuminate or 

 obtuse, with a short awn, 7 -nerved. Palea linear, obtuse, i -nerved. 

 Scales large, triangular, incised at top and nerved at bottom. Stamens 4. 

 Anthers long, very narrow. Styles short, nearly connate at the base. 

 Stigmas feathery. Grain long, narrow, linear. DISTRIBUTION OF 

 SPECIES : AUSTRALIA, TASMANIA, NEW ZEALAND. 



A valuable pasture grass, and affording sufficient bulk to add value to mixed 

 fodder. It is confined, as far as at present known, to the north and middle parts 

 of New Zealand, and, although abundant in certain localities, is apparently not 

 widely distributed. This grass is highly spoken of by Mr. Bacchus, in Australia, 

 in the Second Annual Report of the Secretary for Agriculture in Victoria, where 

 he says : " It is a good fattening grass, affording nutriment for stock during winter, 

 and does not suffer so much from overstocking as the Kangaroo grass. " No doubt 

 this is due to its deep-seated roots, which enable it to withstand the dry heats of 

 summer. Mr. Kirk also reports favourably of this grass in Auckland, " as being 

 closely cropped by horses, cattle, and sheep," and points out that it grows there 

 with equal luxuriance on the light scoria and tertiary clay soils. Its most frequent 

 habitat near Wellington is on the river-flats near the sea-shore, and it is obviously 

 a grass that thrives best in moist places. As an early spring grass it is worthy of 

 cultivation, and deserving of a wider distribution, but, from its having few fertile 

 florets, and consequently producing a small amount of seed, experiments in this 

 direction will require much attention and labour. Failing success by seed, propa- 

 gation by the roots may be recommended in this case and others where the plants 

 do not seed freely, DISTRIBUTION IN NEW ZEALAND : NORTH ISLAND : 

 EAST CAPE, HAWKE'S BAY, and CAPE PALLISER Colenso; AUCKLAND 

 Sinclair, Kirk ; CAPE MARIA and KAWAU ISLANDS Buchanan ; SHORES 

 OF COOK STRAIT Kirk. SOUTH ISLAND : NELSON Buchanan. 



Reference to Plate II. : Fig. 1. Plant. 2. Spikelet. 3. Floret. 4. Nerva- 

 tion of upper pair of empty glumes. 5. Nervation of flowering glume. (>. Nerva- 

 tion of Palea. 7. Scales. 8. Ovary. 9. Grain. 



