BY L. RODWAY. 83 



the whole panicle having a linear appearance, but sometimes 

 thej are short and contracted, the spikelets then forming 

 small, distant, rather dense heads ; spikelets nnmerons, dark- 

 brown, about 1| lines long, more or less pedicelled, each sub- 

 tended by a narrow, aristate bract ; outer empty glumes, alout 

 four, slightly scabrous on the margin and mid-rib, more or 

 less mucronate, seldom having a much elongated point ; 

 flowers, two, the outer one male, the inner hermaphrodite, and 

 an empty glume developed above the flower ; stamens, usually 

 three, but in vigorous male flowers, four; style branches, three; 

 nut, about f to 1 line long, ovoid-oblong, dark, not differing 

 in any detail from the nut of G. trifida, and, like it, finely re- 

 ticulated ; filaments partially deciduous, not supporting the 

 nut as in allied species, the bases only remaining. 



This plant has a similar, though smaller, habit to Gahnia 

 trifida, Lab., but it has a very dissimilar inflorescence, and 

 distinctly differently constructed spikelets, that species bearing 

 a solitary terminal hermaphrodite flower. I submitted the 

 plant to Baron von Miieller, he considered it new to science, 

 but was too busy at the time to give it the attention required. 

 Subsequently, Mr. Fitzgerald had occasion to correspond with 

 F. Turner, F.L.S., of Sydney, who was not disposed to con- 

 sider it specifically distinct. Since that I have made an ex- 

 haustive examination of a great number of specimens, and, 

 ■with Baron von Mueller's sanction, and under our joint 

 authority, I have described it as above. 



