CHEESsEMAN,—Revision of the N.Z. Species of Carex. 417 
plano-convex. This division includes C. acicularis, (which has a nearly 
terete leaf) C. viridis, C. buchanani, C. pulchella, C. petriei, C. comans, o. 
cheesemanii, and C. littoralis. Second, that in which the opposite surfaces 
are about parallel to one another. In this class the leaf may be quite plane, 
as in C. pyrenaica, C. leporina, C. raoulii, etc. ; involute, as in C. colensoi, 
C. echinata, etc.; or keeled, as in C. lucida, C. dipsacea, etc. The leaves 
are usually grooved or striate; sometimes with a strong vein on either side 
of the midrib,—e.g., C. ternaria. C. forsteri, etc. ; and the margins and veins 
are commonly furnished with minute sharp projections, which all point 
towards the base of the leaf, so that the skin is frequently cut or scratched 
if it be drawn sharply through the fingers. In breadth the leaves vary from 
nearly or quite filiform to one-half or three-quarters of an inch. 
Inflorescence.—The flowers, which are invariably unisexual, are arranged 
in spikelets of various forms and size, according to the species. The spike- 
lets may be either solitary, as in C. pyrenaica and C. acicularis; or few in 
number, varying from 3 to 6, 8, or 10, as in the great majority of the 
species; or very numerous and arranged in a compound panicle, as in the 
varieties of C. paniculata, and to a lesser degree, in C. kaloides. The indivi- 
dual spikelets may be either few or many flowered; erect, spreading, or 
pendulous ; sessile or stalked ; close together or more or less distant; and 
such characters are often useful in the discrimination of the species. As 
regards the character of the flowers composing them, the spikelets may be 
androgynous, with the male and female flowers intermixed in the same 
spikelet, or unisexual, in which case they are placed in different spikelets. 
This is an important distinction, and has been made use of to divide the 
genus into two main groups. It is not, however, altogether absolute, as in 
the androgynous series spikelets composed wholly of female or male flowers 
can often be found, and one of the New Zealand species, C. viridis, is even 
occasionally dicecious. Similarly, in the unisexual group the female spike- 
lets generally have a few male flowers at the base or apex. The male 
spikelets are far more rarely mixed, but C. raoulii invariably has them 
partly female, and occasionally this is the case in C. dipsacea and C. 
forsteri. - 
Flowers.—Each spikelet is composed of an indefinite number of floral 
bracts or glumes, in-the axils of which the flowers are situated. The — 
glumes vary in shape, according to: the species, from rounded to lanceolate 
or linear: they usually have a stout midrib, frequently produced into an 
awn of variable length ; and thin and membranous, often lacerate margins, 
Those of the male spikelets generally differ slightly in shape from the 
- female; and those from the lower part of a spikelet seldom exactly match 
those from the upper portion. 
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