Fimbnst,/lis.] CLII. CYPERACE^. 176S 



filiform, slightly dilated at the base, 1 or 2 longer than the inflorescence or all 

 shorter. Spikelets solitary on the rays or pedicels, of a light brown, at first ovate 

 »nd only 1 line long, at length oblong and semetime$ 2 lines long, under 1 line 

 broad. Glumes loosely imbricate all round, membranous, the keel prominent 

 often oiliate and produced into a short point, 1 or 2 outer ones empty. Stamen 1 

 (rarely 2 ?). Style glabrous or slightly oiliate near end ; branches 2. Nut 

 ■obovate, biconvex, smooth or under a strong lens minutely reticulate.— Ba3ekel. 

 an Lmniea, xxxvii. 11 ; F. v. M. Fragm. ix. 11 ; F, pallescens, Nees ; Hook, f Fl 

 Tasm. PruBf. 48. 



Hab^ Gape York, it GilUvray; Eoekinghara Bay, DaUachy; Eockhampton and nciRhbour- 

 aiood, Bowman, O'Shanesy ; and towards Wallangarra. 



Var. maeiostachya. Spikelet ovate or ovate-lanoeolate, 2 to 3 lines long, li line broad 



Hab.: Eockingham Bay, Dallachy • Buseell Eiver, Herb. F. Mnelltr. 



.The species ranges over tropical and subtropical Asia and the same or a very closely allied 

 ■one IS in America. ■' 



19. F. dichotoma (dichotomous), Vald; Kunth, Enum. ii. 225 ; Benth. Fl. 

 Austi: vii. 310. Densely tufted and apparently annual. Stems from a few in." 

 ^oneajly 1ft. high. Leaves shorter, father numerous, very narrow-linear but 

 flat, quite glabrous or the sheaths slightly ciliate. Umbel nearly simple or 

 •compound but not usually large, the longest rays J to lin. Involucral bracts 

 narrow-linear, 2 or 3 longer than the inflorescence. Spikelets ovate, from 1 to 

 IJ line long. Glumes imbricate all round but not very numerous, ovate, mem- 

 branous, with a very prominent keel produced into a short erect point. Stamen 

 1. Style flattened, ciliate but the base glabrous; branches 2. Nut broadly 



•obovate, biconvex, with 10 to 12 prominent longitudinal strife and transversely 

 ■cancellate. — Boeckel. in Linnasa, xxxvii. 12 ; Reichb. Ic. Fl. Germ. t. 315 • F v 

 M. Fragm. ix. 10 ; F. parviflora, R. Br. Prod. 227. 



Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, iJ. i?)-o«;;i ; Brisbane Eiver and Tarampa Creek TSaileii ' 

 Kockingham Bay, Dallachy ; Herbert's Creek, Bowman ; Moreton Bay, G. Stuart. ' ' 



Extends over the warmer regions of both the Ne-v and the Old World. 



20. P. diphylla (2-leaved), Vahl. Enum. ii. 289 ; Bctith. Fl. Austr. vii. 811. 

 "Stems from a perennial rhizome tufted, rather slender, often compressed, ^ to 

 Igft. high, usually scabrous under the inflorescence. Leaves narrow-linear 

 irom almost subulate to IJ line broad, rarely as long as the stem, mostly radical 

 with short open sheaths. Umbel more or less compound or almost simple, loose 

 with the longer rays 1 to 3in., or crowded. Involucral bracts leafy, 1 or 2 often 

 exceeding the inflorescence. Spikelets few or numerous, ovoid or oblong, usually 

 brown and about 3 lines long and 1^ line broad. Glumes closely imbricate all 

 Tound, broad, rather rigid, shortly mucronate, the keel 1 or 8-nerved, the sides 

 •smooth. Stamen in the typical form 1, in some varieties 3. Style flattened 

 ciliate ; branches 2. Nut obovate, much compressed but biconvex, whitish' 

 distinctly striate and cancellate. — I", variabilis, R. Br. Prod. 228 ; F. communis' 

 Kunth, Enum. ii. 234; F. v. M.. Fragm. ix. 10; F. iwlymorpM, Boeekel. in 

 Linnsea, xxxvii. 14; F, elongata and F. strieta, R. Br. Prod. 228; F. f/racilis 

 F. tristachya and F. obtusifoUa, Nees. in Sieb. Agrostoth. n. 2, 114, 117 (the two 

 latter numbers West Indian). 



Hab.: Gulf of Carpentaria, E. Brown; Port Curtis and Percy Island, M'Gillivray; Eock- 

 ingham Bay, Dallachy ; Eockhampton and neighboarhood, Tlwzet, Bowman dnd- others • 

 Moreton Bay, F. v. Mueller ; Stanthorpe and many other localities, « ' 



The fungus-blight Ustilago axioola, Berk, often infests the inflorescence of this and closely 

 :allied species. 



Var. gracilis. Leaves very narrow, glumes more membranous and paler coloured than in the 

 ■ordinary form. Stamens usually 3. — F. gracilis, B. Br. Prod. 227. 



Hab.: Keppel Bay, R. Brown. 



The species is common in the warmer regions both of the New and the Old World, extending 

 dnto North America. 



