LIV. CYPEEACB^. 875 



Seeds pendulous from the top of the cell ; testa coriaceous, hard, crustaceous, smooth 

 or tubercled, rarely membranous ; hilum naked or strophiolate ; albumen fleshy, 

 copious. Embryo at the end of the seed opposite to the hilum, and pressed against 

 the outside of the albumen, lenticular, antitropous. 



PEINOIPAL GENERA. 



Restio. Thamnochoi'tus. Lyginia. Anthochortus. Calopsis. 



Elegia. Lepyrodia. Leucoplocus. Willdenovia. 



JRestiucece are closely allied to Eiiocaulonets (whicli see). They approach Jrmceee in their rhizome, 

 knotty stem, alternate sheathing leaves, glumaceous 3-seriate perianth, 3-1-eelled ovary, capsular fruit 

 and fleshy albumen ; and are distinguished by their split sheath, 3-2-stamens, orthotropous ovule and 

 lenticular embryo outside the albumen. They have also some affinity with Cyperacece in habit, diclinism, 

 number of stamens, &c. ; but Cyperaoem differ in the leaf-sheaths not being split, the perianth being 

 r^placed by bristles or scales, the 2-celled and basifixed anthers, the erect anatropous ovule, farinaceous 

 albumen, more or less included embryo, &c. 



Restiaceis all live south of the equator : the greater number are South African [and Australian] ; 

 some inhabit Madagascar and Australia. None have yet been observed in the Nevir World. 



Sestiacece possess no known property, or other use than that made by savages of their stems to thatch 

 their huts. 



Centeolepide^, Desvaux [Desvauxiacece, Lindl.] , originally annexed to Restiacew, 

 then separated, and again united to this family, differ only in the perianth being 

 reduced to one or two sub-opposite glumes ; their andrcecium is monandrous ; the 

 ovary consists of one or more irregularly connate 1-celled carpels, each with a 

 filiform style ; and the fruit is a membranous utricle, opening laterally by a longi- 

 tudinal slit. 



GENERA. 



Centrolepis. Aphelia. Alepyrum. Gaimardia. 



[Centrolepidea inhabit sandy places and swamps in Australia, and the mountains of New Zealand 

 and Tierra del Fuego.] 



LIV. CYPERACEyE. 

 (Ctpeeoidb.^, Jussieu. — CtpeeacejE, Br., B.O.) 



Flcwebs glwmaceous, 5 or diclinous. Perianth 0, or re-placed by bristles. 

 Stamens hypogynous, usually 3-2; anthers basifixed. Ovabt 1-celled, l-ovuled; 

 STYLES 3-2 ; OVULE basilar, anatropous. Achene. Seed albuminous. Embryo 

 minute, included or exserted. — Stem usually angular. Leaves Grass-like, sheath very 

 rarely split. Flowers in spikes. \ 



Usually Grass-like herbs, with rhizome shortened or creeping, stoloniferous, 

 sheathed by foliar scales, sometimes tuberous at its extremities. Stems angular or. 

 cylindric, without nodes, or septate within {Eleocha.ris geniculata, articulata, &c.), 

 often hypogeal, last internode elongated and epigeaVsimplej-or very rarely branched, 

 solid when young, fistular when full grown. Leaves alternate, springing from^ the 

 nodes, equitant in 2-3 rows ; petiole ih a closed or very rarely split sheath, sometimes 

 .with no blade, but elongated and mucronate ; blade linear or ribbon-like, or chan- 

 nelled, with parallel nerves and transverse venules, margin entire, often scabrid ; 



