ll916 CLIII. GEAMINE^. [Glyceria. 



convex on the back, 3 to 9-nerved, the nerves not reaching to the hyalifie obtuse 

 sometimes slightly denticulate apex. Palea nearly as long as the glume. Ovary 

 glabrous. Styles distinct, very short, the plumose stigmas frequently more 

 branched than in othef genera. Grain glabrous, enclosed in the glume arid 

 palea but free from them. 

 The genus is widely distributed over the temperate and some warmer region^ of the globe. 

 Brown called attention to two remarkable characters in the typical species, 4be union of the 

 two lodicules, and the ramification of the stigmatic hairs, which are most marked in the G. 

 fluitans and exist to a certain degree in some other species. They are, however, as far as has 

 been observed, not constant in all the species which have been included in the geiiuS,'- which 

 reqiiiies further revision in connection with some closely allied ones ^rom the northern 

 hemisphere. — Benth. 

 Flowering glumes with a tuft of hairs round the base or on the back below the , 



middle. I'anicle loose h G. Forfieana. 



Ehachis and base of the flowering glumes glabrous or minutely pubescent. 

 Stems rarely 3ft. high. Panicle narrow. 

 Panicle long and loose. Spikelets J to lin. Flowering glumes distant, 



narrow, 3 lines long, outer glumes much shorter . 2. G. fiuitam. 



Panicle dense. Spikelets few, broad, J to fin. Flowering glumes palea- 

 ceous, 3 to 4 lines long, outer glumes as long .... . . . 3. G. latispieea. 



Stems very rigid, tall with few short leaves and often clusters of short 



branches. Flowering glumes hyaline, 3 nerved at the base, ' 



Panicle very spreading. Spikelets 6 to 12-flowered 4. G. ramigera. 



, 1. IjT. Fordeana (after Mrs. H. Forde), F. o. M. Frcgm.. viii. 130 ; Benth. 

 Fl. Austr. vii. 657. An erect glabrous grass attaining 2 or 3ft. Leaves flat,; 

 very scabrous. Paniclfe very loose, compound, 4 to Sin. long, with very spreading 

 capillary branches, mostly in pairs or threes. Spikelets lanceolate, mostly 4 to 

 5 lines long, 8 to 12-tlowered. Outer glumes acute, 8-nerved; flowering glumes 

 5 or 7-nerved, 1^ lines long, surrounded by a tuft of hairs and shortly hairy or 

 pubescent in the lower part, the midrib prominent but not readhiBg the obtuse 

 hyaline apex, the lateral nerves shorter. Palea-keels scarcely ciliate. — Poa 

 Fordeana, F. v. M. I.e. 

 Hab.: Kecorded for Queensland by F. v. M. 



2. G. fluitans (floating), R. Br. Prod. 179 ; Benth. Fl. Austr. vii. 657. 

 Sbems creeping in mud or floating a*- the base, ascending to 2 or 3ft. Leaves 

 narrow, flat, glabrous, the ligula jagged. Panicle loose, long and narrow. 

 Spikelets solitary in the distant notches or 2 or 3 on a short branch from the 

 same notch, erect, narrow, ^ to lin. long, 6 to 20-flowered, the diaichis glabrous 

 as well as the glumes. Outer glomes broad, obtuse, hyaline, faintly nerved at 

 the base, the lowest about 1 J lines, the 2nd longer ; flowering glumes more rigid, 

 about 3 lines long, with about 7 nerves not reaching to the hyaline obtuse entire 

 or slightly denticulate apex. Lodicules usually connate. — Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. ii. 

 122; Eeichb. Ic. Fl. Germ. t. 80; Turner Ag. Gaz. N.8.W. ii. ; Festuca fluitans, 

 Linn. ; F. v. M. Fragm. viii. 129. 



Hab.: Southern border towards Wallangarra. 



The species is abundant in the northern hemisphere, in the New as well as the Old World. 



3. Cr. latispieea (spikelets broad), F. v. M. Fragm. viii. 127 ; Benth. FL 

 Austr. vii. 658. Stems erect, attaining 2 or 3ft. Leaves flat, glabrous, the 

 ligula long and jagged. Panicle narrow, the branches very short, erect, each 

 bearing 1 to 3 spikelets, the lower ones distant. Spikelets rather brpad and 

 loose, ^in. long or rather more, pale-coloured, 6 to 12-flowered, the rhachis as 

 well as the glumes glabrous of very minutely^ hairy. Outer glumes obtuse, 

 6-nerved ; flowering ones 8 to 4 lines long, 7 or 9-nerved, rounded on the back as 

 in the rest of the genus but the midrib reaching the obtuse, hyaline apex, the 

 lateral nerves faint and shorter. Grain oblong, flattened but concave on the 

 inner face. — Festuca latispieea, F. v. M. I.e. 



Hab.: Southern border towards Wallangarra. 



