90 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



the rhizome in the specimens being imperfect, and the mode of 

 innovations being therefore doubtful, he considers it difficult to 

 ascertain to which of the known species it is most closely related. 

 It may belong to the " Nemorales" (Hook., J., " Flora Brit. 

 Ind."), where the culm, when flowering, is not surrounded by 

 developed innovation-shoots (surculi), as in Poa ccespitosa, Forst., 

 but only by buds or leafless stolons. In the " Nemorales " group 

 there are also species with compressed culm {P. compressa), and 

 with long ligule {P. 2Jaiustris and P. sterilis), but none of them is 

 nearly related to this plant. Nor is this species of Indian origin, 

 there being no described Indian Poa to which it could belong ; 

 neither is there any near relationship to Poa ccespitosa, or to any 

 of the New Zealand species. 



Professor Hackel asked me to furnish a description of the 

 mode of growing and forming innovations of this grass, but the 

 living plant being now out of my reach for the purpose of study, 

 I am unable to entertain his wish. For the benefit of any 

 botanist residing nearer to the locality, however, and who may 

 wish to take up this work, I append the description of the four 

 modes of growing as quoted by him. 



1. Innovations all intravaginal — viz., the new leaf-shoot 

 (innovation) grows up within the sheath in whose axil the bud of 

 it took its origin (as, for instance, Poa cmspitosa, with all its 

 varieties). 



2. Innovations mixed up of intravaginal ones and of creeping 

 extravaginal ones. Extravaginal shoots are those which pierce the 

 base of the sheath in whose axil the bud originated — Pratenses 

 (Hook., " Flor. Brit. Ind.") 



3. All the innovations extravaginal, but at the time of 

 flowering reduced to mere buds or short surculi, developing at 

 fruiting time to leafy shoots — Nemorales. 



4. Like 3, but the surculi already developing to leafy 

 shoots before the flowering time — Glareosi (Hook., I.e.) ; for 

 instance, Poa cces2niosa, Forst. 



This species is dedicated to Professor E. Hackel, of Graz, 

 Austria, the eminent agrostologist. 



NOTES ON A COLLECTION OF MARINE ALG.E 

 FROM KING ISLAND. 



By Prof. Alfred J. Ewart, D.Sc, Ph.D., F.L.S., Govern- 

 ment Botanist. 

 {Bead before the Field Naturalists' Chth of Victoria, 9th July, 1906.) 



Some little time ago a collection of marine alg^e made at King 

 Island, Bass Strait, was foi warded to the National Herbarium by 

 Mrs. Spong. The identification of the collection has been kindly 



