GRAMINE^ 487 



GRAMINE^E 

 Andropogon annulatus, Forsk. 

 Cheeseman reports this in the Manual in 1906 as occurring at 

 Mongonui, where Carse also found it in 1910. 



Anthistiria imberbis, Retz. Kangaroo-grass 

 First recorded in 1864 in Hooker's list as A. australis. Again 

 referred to in Kirk's list of Auckland plants in 1869 as having been 

 found by Dr Sinclair, and there named A. ciliata, Linn. 



Apparently this is the species recorded by Kirk as A. australis, Br., 

 in 1877, which was collected on the Lower Rangitata. In the Manual 

 (1906) it is reported to occur in fields and waste places at the Bay of 

 Islands, Whangaparaoa near Auckland, and in the vicinity of Wel- 

 lington. 



Paspalum dilatatum, Poir 



First recorded by Kirk in 1895 as occurring on a heap of ballast 

 (from Buenos Ayres) in Wellington. In 1896 recorded by Cheeseman 

 from the North Cape district. Messrs Yates and Co. (of Auckland 

 and Sydney) claim that they introduced it as a fodder plant from 

 Australia in 1895, but it is a South American species. Cheeseman 

 speaks of it in 1906 as "increasing in several localities." My son, 

 G. Stuart Thomson, writing from Whangarei in 19 16, says: 

 it is now one of the most aggressive plants we have in the north, and is 

 looked on by some farmers as a pest, as bad as tall fescue. When it gets 

 a hold in cultivated land, ploughing is almost an impossibility. 



It is now used as a pasture grass in Westland. 



Panicum miliaceum, Linn. Millet 

 In 1772 Crozet sowed seeds of this grain in the garden he formed 

 on Moutouaro Island, and apparently, it sprouted and appeared above 

 ground before the expedition sailed from New Zealand. It has not, 

 however, been cultivated to any extent in this country, and has never 

 been found in the wild state. 



Panicum sanguinale, Linn. Crab-grass 

 First recorded in Hooker's list in 1864. Kirk reports it from near 

 Castle Point in 1877, as Digitaria sanguinalis. Scop. Recorded in 1 882 

 by Cheeseman as a common and troublesome weed in light rich soils 

 throughout the Auckland district. In the Manual (1906) it is char- 

 acterised as a common weed in waste places and cultivated ground. 



Panicum glabrum, Gaud. 

 First recorded from the Auckland district by Kirk in 1869 as 

 Digitaria humifma, Pers. In 1882 Cheeseman recorded it from the 



