58 



the ranges may often be seen covered by this grass, both in New South 

 Wales and Queensland. In our Colony it is found on the poorest 

 soils to the best, but it prefers good soil in brush country on hillsides. 

 Found from south (Mount Dromedary) to the north of our Colony in 

 the Coast districts. 



9. CHAM^RAPHIS. 



Spikelets with one terminal flower, usually female by abortion and 

 a male one below it, few and distant or solitary on the filiform branches 

 of a simple panicle, the partial rhachis produced into a long awnlike 

 point beyond the insertion of the upper or only spikelet. 



Glumes four, the outer empty one very small, the second and third 

 nearly equal, membranous, or at length rigid, many nerved, often 

 tapering to a point, but not awned ; the third with a palea, and three 

 stamens in its axil ; the fourth, or fruiting glume, shorter and very 

 faintly nerved. 



Palea with inflected margins, but not auriculate. 



Staminodia usually two, very slender, with small abortive anthers. 



Styles very shortly united at the base. 



Grain enclosed in the scarious, or rather rigid fruiting glume and 

 palea, but free from them. Semi-aquatic grasses, glabrous, or 

 nearly, so. 



Leaves flat, the ligula short. 



Panicle spreading, with distant spikelets on filiform branches. 



Fruiting glume short and obtuse .. . ... ... ... ... 1. C. spinescens. 



Panicle spikelike but loose, the spikelets often two together on the 

 lower branches. Fruiting glume acute. Outer glume half a 

 line long, membranous ... ... ... ... ... ... 2. C. paradoxa. 



1. Chamber aphis spinescens, Poir. 



Botanical name. — Chamser aphis, Greek, chamai for " on the ground/' 

 and r aphis a needle, referring to the awn-like point of the rhachis ; 

 spinescens , derived from the Latin spina, a thorn or prickle, having 

 much the meaning of raphis in the present connection. 

 Synonym. — Panicum spinescens, R.Br. 

 Botanical description (B. FL, vii, 498) : — 

 Stems creeping at the base, and when in water forming large floating masses. 

 Leaves linear-lanceolate, flat, with loose flattened sheaths, quite smooth, or slightly 



scabrous. 

 Panicle, 2 to 4 inches long, with rather numerous filiform, flexuose, spreading 

 branches produced beyond the last spikelet into an awnlike point always longer 

 than the spikelet. 

 Spikelets few on each branch, distant, shortly pedicellate, but closely appressed in 



each bend of the rhachis, very narrow, about 3 lines long in the typical form. 

 Pedicels and rhachis usually minutely scabrous-ciliate. 



Outer glume abotit ^ line long, thinly membranous, the second many-nerved, 

 tapering to a long point ; the third usually rather smaller, with a shorter point 

 and fewer nerves, enclosing the male flower. 

 Fruiting glume much shorter, obtuse, very thin, and remaining thin as well as the 

 palea over the grain which readily falls out of them. 



