Kylllnja.] OLII. CVPERACEiE. 1763 



and narrow. Involucral bracts long and narrow. Spikes or flower heads usually 

 3, the central one ovoid-oblong, about 4 lines long, the lateralones shorter and 

 globular and occasionally a fourth or a fifth globular flower-head in the same 



'"cluster. Spikelets 1-flowered, scarcely 1 line long, narrow, the upper glumes 

 nearly equal, 5 or 7-nerved, the keel not much more prominent than the lateral 



J nerves. Nut narrow-oblong, pale-coloured, shorter than the glumes. — Kunth, 

 Enum. ii. 188; Bceckel._in Linnoea, xxxv. 418. 

 '• Hab.: Cape Eiver, Bowmmk ; Eockhampton, O'Shanesy; llndiay, Nernst.- 

 Tlie species is widely spread over tropical Asia and AtrJca, 



3. HfiLEOCHARIS (Eleocharis), R. Br. 



(Said to be so named from the plants delighting in marshes.) 



(Scirpidium and Heleogenus (Eleogemis) Nees.J 



Spikelet solitary, terminal, with many hermaphrodite flowers. Glumes 



"imbricate all round the rhachis, the lowest 1 or 2 empty. Hypogynous bristles 



-about 3 to 8, usually scabrous or ciliate with reflexed hairs, rarely deficient. 



Stamens 8, 2 or 1. Style dilated at the base, divided to above or below the 



middle into 2 or 3 filiform stigmatic branches. Nut obovoid or nearly globular 



and 3-ribbed, or more or less flattened and biconvex with 2 marginal ribs, always 



crowned by the conical or depressed persistent base of the style, the remainder 



•of the style falling away. — Stems simple, . tufted, without perfect leaves, the 



barren, stems often taken for leaves, the real leaves reduced to sheathing scales, 



of which the lowest are short brown and loose, the innermost (sometimes the 



pnly_^one) forming a long sheath closely appressed nearly or quite to its orifice. 



No involucre except the outer empty glume, which takes the place of a bract 



subtending the spikelet and is sometimes larger than the other glumes, very 



rarely produced into a short point. 



(lenerally distributed over the tropical and temperate regions of the New as well as the Old 

 World, two species extending to within the Arctic circle. 



Sect. I. JiiinnocllB,ria.— Spikelets cylindrkul. Glumes obtuse, not at all or very 

 -ebsctirely keeled, rathen' rigid, with a hyaline border. Persistent base of the style forming a 

 conical KSiially flat beak to the nut. 



Stems terete, appearing. articulate from, the transverse septa dividing 



the internal pith .1. H. spliacelata. 



'Stems oontiouoiis, obtusely triiinetrous or terete. 



Glumes almost white, scarcely striate, tin- hyaline border very narrow 



and soon disappearing, the spiral an niigement very prominent . . 2. II. spiralis. 

 GInmes pale or dark, distinctly stiiute, the spiral arrangement not 

 prominent ........ . ... . 3. H. variegata. 



■Stems continuous, acutely 3 or 4-anglc(l 4. H. Jistulosa. 



. Skct. II. Scirpidium. — Spikelet ci/lindrieiil or tapering upwards. Glumes with a distinct 

 green centre or prominent keel. Perslstcni iirne of the style shortly conical. 



Stem slender, acutely 4angled ... ^ 5. H. tetraquetra. 



Stem obtusely angled, or terete and striate. 

 loner leaf-sheath truncate at the orifice with a small erect point. 

 Nut biconvex. 



Spikelet pale-coloured, obtuse 6. H. cylindrosiachys. 



Spikelet usually dark-coloured and rather acute . . , 7. H. acuta. 



Inner leaf-sheath oblique at the orifice without the dorsal-point. 



Spikelet 6 to 8 lines long. No hypogynous bristles. Nut biconvex S. H. atricha. 



Sect. III. Keleog°enus. — Spike ovoid-conical or small and feiD-flowered. Glumes keeled. 

 Persistent ba-ie of the style short and depressed. Leaf-sheath oblique at the orifice, often scarious. 



-Nat biconvex, very smooth. Glumes deciduous, usually numerous.., .'^ -f 



Spike dense, many-flowered, pale coloured. Stems mostly above 6in. 



high. Glumes broad, with a green centre 9. II. capitata. 



I ' Spike loose, dark-coloured, the glumes not very numerous, prominently 



I ■ keeled. Stems under 3in. . ' 10. H. alrojjurpurea. 



