500 Transactions. — Botany. 
Poa enysi, M.S. 
A remarkable species with the habit of Zoysia pungens, and producing a 
dense even sward of short but nutritious herbage at altitudes of 8,000 to 
4,000 feet in the South Island. It is a great favourite with sheep, but, 
although valuable in the localities where it occurs, is not adapted for 
general cultivation. 
Poa purpurea, M.S. 
A grass apparently undescribed, occurring at an elevation of 8,000 to 
4,000 feet in the Valley of the Clarence, where it is eaten alike by horses, 
cattle, and sheep. It appears well adapted for mixed pasturage on cool 
lands, but requires further observation. 
Poa anceps, Forst. 
A variable plant which in one or other of its forms ranges through- 
out the Colony from the sea level to 6,000 feet, the large forms affording a 
heavy yield of herbage of good quality, eaten by all kinds of stock. 
a. elata, —This variety is recognised by’ its large open panicle, which 
is sometimes ten or twelve inches in length. It appears to be restricted to 
the Auckland district, where it is occasionally found growing amongst cul- 
livated grasses, and must be considered a valuable grass for cultivation. 
D. foliosa.—' This is the most common form, and is especially plentiful 
on maritime cliffs. It has a considerable range in altitude, but above 8,000 
feet usually assumes a depauperated aspect. On the Rimutaka mountains 
it is abundant, and kept closely cropped by cattle and sheep. It is probably 
inferior in nutritive value to var. a, although it produces a larger 
amount of herbage. 
y. breviculmis. 
€. densiflora. 
e. alpina. 
These are small varieties only found in mountain districts, where they 
are kept closely cropped by sheep, but so far as present observations extend 
do not appear to offer any decided advantages to the cultivator. Var. « is 
apparently confined to mountain shingle, and appears to be a distinct 
species. 
Poa australis, Br.; var. levis. 
Silver Tussock Grass. 
This species is abundant from central Waikato southwards, forming 
tussocks of harsh dry herbage, eaten by cattle and horses in the absence of 
better food, but not in any way valuable for cultivation. 
ns a paper on New Zealand Grasses, written seven years ago, I wrote 
of this plant as a grass of great value, having mistaken for it a slender 
form of the variety elata of Poa anceps, At that time I had not seen the 
