70 FLORA OF TASMANIA. | Restiacee. 
ribus vacuis, stigmatibus indivisis, capsula obovata apice simplici uniloculari, placentis basi distinctis.— 
(Gunn, 1389.) 
Has. Common on the road to Macquarrie harbour, in similar situations with X. operculata, Gunn.— 
(Fl. Nov.—Feb.) 
DIsTRIB. South-eastern Australia. 
A much smaller species than X. operculata, with short, rigid, flat leaves, scabrous at the margin, and often 
tortuous, more slender twisted scapes, and smaller capitula, the scales of which are fewer, paler in the centre, and 
not guinguefariously arranged. Outer scale of perianth very broadly obcordate ; inner lateral, with scabrous keels. 
Ovary obovate, not furnished with the granular four-lobed apex of X. operculata. Brown describes the capsule 
(which I have not seen) as unilocular, with three distinct placente. 
Nat. On». XIV. RESTIACER. 
This Order, including Centrolepidez as a tribe or suborder, is far more abundant in Australia than in 
any other country except South Africa. With the exception of the very widely distributed genus Brio- 
caulon (which is absent from Tasmania), almost all the genera of the Order are natives of these two countries, 
and the majority of them are Australian. Owing to the difficulty of discriminating the genera and species, 
and to the male and female individuals of the same species being often very dissimilar, the Australian mem- 
bers of the Order are in considerable confusion. Of these 1 have examined about 120 species, the majo- 
rity of them natives of the south-western quarter of the continent, and very few indeed being common to 
that and the south-eastern quarter. The Restiacee generally grow in dry and poor soils, forming coarse, 
Rush-like or Grass-like tufts, that are sometimes with difficulty distinguished from Cyperacez, except by 
the sheaths of the culms and leaves, which are in Restiacee split at the base (except in R. complanatus), 
and the anthers are usually one-celled. 
Gen. I. RESTIO, Z. 
Flores dioici, amenti squamis dispositi, ebracteati.  Perianthii squame 4-6, glumacex. Masc. 
Stamina 4-6 ; antheris 1-locularibus, peltatis. Fa. Capsula 2-3-loba, 2—3-locularis, angulis salientibus 
dehiscens; stylo 2-3-partito ; Joculis 1-spermis.—Herbe rigide; rhizomate aphyllo, squamato; culmis 
Junceis, aphyllis, simplicibus v. ramosis, vaginatis ; vaginis lazis v. culmo appressis ` amentis solitariis spi- 
catis paniculatisve. 
One of the largest genera of the Order, confined to South Africa and Australia, from which last country I have 
seen about thirty species. All are dry, rigid, Rush-like, dicecious plants, with woody, ereeping, scaly rhizomes, 
sending up erect, simple or branched, bracteate culms, which bear terminal, small, brown, solitary or spiked or 
panicled amenta.—Scales of the amentum rigid, imbricate all round, each bearing one small, obscure, unisexual, 
ebracteate flower. Perianth of four to six coriaceous, brown glumes. 
with simple, peltate anthers. Female with a two- or three-celled and 
style. Capsule small, two- or three-lobed, bursting at the angles 
Male flower with two or three stamens, 
-lobed ovary, having a two- or three-parted 
; cells one-seeded. (Name from restis, a cord.) 
$ 1. Oulms very rarely divided or branched. 
l. Restio monocephalus (Br. Prodr. 245) ; culmis simplicibus v. divisis 
truncatis, amentis solitariis paucisve late ovatis, 
(Gunn, 1392.) (Tas. CXXXV. A.) 
Has. Not uncommon in moist guartzy or sandy soil, in various parts of the Colony.—(Fl. Feb.) 
teretibus, vaginis laxis 
squamis coriaceis obtusis, perianthiis 6-glumis, stylis 2.— 
