1780 CLII. CYPERAGEiE. [ArthroUyies^ 



anthers. Style hairy, thickeued at the base, articulate and :falli;ig off below the 

 thickening ; stigmatio branches 3, recurved, densely cottony^wooUy. Nut ovoid- 

 globular, obscurely 8-angled, very obtuse.^Perennial, leafless except the sheath- 

 ing scales at the base. Spikelets in a small terminal head. 



The genus as above characterised is limited to the single Australian species. 



1. A. aphylla (leafless), R. Br. Prod. 229, not of Bceckel ; Benth. Fl. Aitstr.. 

 vii. 423. Stems from a short thick' rhizonje erect, more or less tufted, rigid, 

 more or less flattened, from very slender to about 1 line broad, 1 to l|ft. higb,. 

 the sheathing scales at the base more or .less hairy, thin and scarious at the top, 

 the old ones dark brown and persistent round the base of the flowering stems 

 after their own stems have perished. Terminal head of spikelets depressed- 

 globular or hemispherical, 3 to 4 lines diameter. Outer bracts lanceolate- 

 acuminate or almost subulate, 1 or 2 often nearly as long as the head, the others 

 subtending the spikelets gradually passing iqto the glnrnes. , Spik$let3 numerous 

 and sessile in the head, IJ to nearly 2 lines long. Glumes about 7, the inner- 

 most flowering one oblong-lanceolate, acute, membranous, obscurely 8 or 5- 

 nerved, the others gradually shorter and broader, all empty in the spikelets 

 examined, but according to Boeckeler there is sometimes a second male flower. 

 Anthers of the longer stamens when present exserted, those of the shorter ones- 

 included. Style-branches recurved and very conspicuous from their white- 

 pubescence. Nut whitish, smooth or under a strong lens minutely reticulate.— 

 Fimbristylis aphylla, E. v. M. Fragm. ix. 9, as to the Australian plant ; F. 

 ;>2<«mcu2mts, Boeckel. in Liinniea, xxxviii. 891 ; Hook. Ic. 1345. 



Hab : Endeavour RiTer, Banks and Solander. 



In most cases, by the time, the style-branches are well out, the longer filaments are without 

 anthers, but in the bud I have generally seen one at least, and once all three present. — Benth. 



16. RHYNCHOSPORA, Vahl. 



(Beferring to the seed being beaked.) 



(Cephaloscbcenus and Morisia, Nees.) 



Spikelets capitate or paniculate, with 1 or 2 hermaphrodite flowers and often 



1 or 2 males, oblong, more or less acuminate. Glumes imbricate all round thfr 



rhachis ; 3, 4 or more outer ones shorter and empty, and 1 or 2 above th& 



flowering ones enclosing male flowers or empty. Hypogynous bristles 6, rarely 



fewer, sometimes more. Stamens 8 or fewer. Style slender, conically dilated at- 



the base ; stigmatic branches 2. Nut globular or more or less flattened, crowned 



by the persistent conical or elongated base of the style, which is sessile and 



continuous or separated by a constriction but not distinctly articulate. — Stems 



simple under the inflorescence, usually leafy. Spikelets usually of a rich brown, 



more or less clustered, in terminal or axillary heads or corymbs sometimes 



forming large terminal panicles. 



The genus is widely spread over the tropical and temperate regions of the New and the- 

 Old World. 



Spikelets clustered in a compound panicle, the partial panicles corymbose 

 or cymoie. 



Spikelets 3 to 4 lines long, very numerous, the terminal corymb 3 to 4in. 

 diameter. Beak of the nut long and thick, usually furrowed . ... . 1. B. aurea. 



Spikelets 2 to 3 lines long, in loose corymbs of } to lin, diameter. 

 Ueak of the nut not longer than the nut and closely sessile .... 2. R. glauca. 



Spikelets in a single dense terminal head. 

 Hypogynous bristles shorter than the nut. Kut smooth, broadly 

 obovoid, with a very short beak. Stem usually above 1ft 3. 12. Wallichiana.. 



