92 



1. Anthistiria ciliata, Linn. 



Botanical name. — Anthistiria, from the Greek Anthisteri, very stiff 

 stubble, the grasses often being coarse looking and tussocky ; ciliata 

 (Latin), bearing hairs, or bearded, in allusion to the spikelets, which 

 are often ciliate. 



Synonym. — Themeda Fors'kalii, Hack. 



Vernacular names. — The " Common Kangaroo Grass." " It forms 

 tussocks, which habit, combined with its nodding clusters of flowers, 

 probably procured its local name" (Bailey.) Perhaps, however, it was 

 so called because kangaroos and other marsupials feed on it. The 

 " Rooi Grass " of South Africa. 



Where figured. — Bailey ; Agricultural Gazette ; Hooker, Fl., Tas. ; 

 Duthie (figure and flower) ; Hackel. 



Botanic description (B. FL, vii, 542). — 



Stems 1 to 3 feet high. 



Leaves narrow, glabrous or the sheaths hairy. 



Ligula very short, sometimes ciliate. 



Spikes or dusters of spikelets not numerous, sessile or the lower ones pedunculate in 

 a short terminal leafy panicle, the leafy bracts subtending each spike sheathing 

 at the base, and tapering into points longer than the cluster, the short rhachis 

 bearded with long brown hairs. 



Spikelets narrow, 4 to 5 lines long, four male or barren sessile at the base of the 

 bearded rhachis, two or one pedicellate at the top, glabrous or sprinkled with a 

 few long hairs. 



Outer glume the largest, acute, many-nerved. 



Second shorter, thin, and three -or five-nerved. 



Third thin and hyaline. 



Fertile terminal spikelet glabrous, or shortly pubescent at the end. 



Outer glume broad, obtuse, rather thick, about seven-nerved. 



Second rigid, rather shorter and narrower, with two prominent lateral nerves and a 

 faint central one. 



Third narrow-oblong, very thin and hyaline. 



Aicn, or fourth glume, very long and rigid, the attenuate base not dilated. 



Value as a fodder. — This is, perhaps, the best known and most 

 appreciated of all our native grasses. It is readily identified, for its 

 characteristic inflorescence freely forms if it has a chance to recuperate, 

 and it grows in tussocks or tussocky masses, which frequently grow 

 closely together. The grass has been so much appreciated by stock 

 that it is now virtually extinct in many districts in which it was 

 formerly plentiful. It forms so much inflorescence that a paddock of it, 

 with its nodding flowers, has the appearance of a cultivated crop, but 

 only those who have endeavoured to collect seed of it know how 

 difficult it frequently is to collect even a few fertile grains. Hence 

 one difficulty in propagating it ; but it can be so readily propagated 

 from living plants that it seems a great pity that farmers and pas- 

 toralists do not more frequently introduce it into their paddocks than 

 they do at present. Of course, they would require to fence patches 

 of it for a season ; in fact, it would be desirable to permanently main- 

 tain nursery patches of it, in order that a supply of roots might always 

 be available. This is, of course an amplication of the advice so often 



