3. Gymnoschoenus. CYPERACEAE. 91 



6. S. nit ens (R. Br.), Poir. Stems slender, from a creeping rootstock ; leaves at base 

 of stem, short, filiform ; spikelets brown, 2-3-flowered, solitary or several in a terminal 

 head, with an erect involucral bract continuing the stem ; glumes broad, subdistichous ; 

 hypogynous bristles 6, with long hairs towards the base ; nut obovoid, shining, trigonous. 



Reedbeds, near Adelaide; Yorke Peninsula; Kangaroo Island; South- East. Nov.- 

 Jan. 



7. S. Tepperi, F v. M. Dwarf ; leaves basal, filiform, usually curved, longer than the 

 stem, which bears 1 spikelet with 1 fertile flower ; no hypogynous bristles ; nut white, 

 trigonous, rugulose. 



Mount Lofty Ranges ; Kangaroo Island ; Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas. Summer. 



8. S. diseifer, Tate. Dwarf ; leaves basal, linear, flat ; spikelet with 2 fertile flowers, 

 solitary at summit of short stem and with an erect involucral bract ; no bristles ; nut 

 ovoid, raised on a thin disk. 



Dudley Peninsula, K.I. Oct.-Dec. 



9. S. aphyllus, Boeck. Stems wiry, with brown sheathing bases, glabrous at orifice ; 

 spikelets 2-flowered, 5 mm. long, in a terminal head, which is equalled or scarcely exceeded 

 by the brown outer involucral bract ; no bristles ; stamens 3-7 ; nut obovoid, obtusely 

 trigonous ; glumes ciliolate. 



From River Murray northwards. Sept. -Jan. 



10. S. brevifolius, R. Br. Stems wiry, slightly compressed, 30-40 cm. high, with brown 

 glabrous sheathing bases ; spikelets dark-brown, 2-3-flowered, 7-10 mm. long, few and 

 pedicellate in the axils of sheathing bracts with a short, erect, obtuse lamina, forming a 

 narrow panicle 5-10 cm. long ; glumes all ciliate ; hypogynous bristles 3, very short ; 

 nut obovoid. 



Myponga. Nov. -Dec. 



11 S. tenuissimus (Hook, f.), Benth. Stems filiform, with 2 longitudinal groves; 

 leaves reduced to basal sheaths ; spikelets solitary, terminal, erect, 10-15 mm. long, with 

 1 fertile flower ; hypogynous scales 6 ; nut obovoid, smooth. — Lepidospora tenuissima, 

 F. v. M. 



Square Waterhole ; Encounter Bay ; South-East. Summer. 



3. GYMNOSCHOENUS, Nees. 

 (Greek gymnos, naked ; skhoinos, a reed : alluding to the long naked stems.) 

 1. G. sphaerocephalus (R. Br.), Hook. f. Stems rigid, slender, over 1 m. high, with 

 long, channelled leaves ; spikelets with 2 flowers, the lower male, the upper bisexual, 

 numerous in a dense globular head, with a few broad involucral bracts at base ; glumes 

 subdistichous ; hypogynous bristles 3, slender ; stamens and style -branches 3 ; nut 

 crowned by the base of the style. — Schoenus sphaerocephalus, Poir. 

 South-East. Oct.-Dec. 



4. HELEOCHARIS, R. Br. 



(Greek helos, heleos, a marsh ; khaifu, to delight in.) 

 Spikelets many-flowered, cylindrical, terminal, solitary, the glumes imbricate all round 

 the rhachilla ; hypogynous bristles 3-8 ; stamens 1-3 ; style-branches 2-3 ; nut crowned 

 by the thickened persistant base of the style ; leaves reduced to sheathing bases. 



A. Stems hollow, stout, apparently articulate H. sphacelata 1. 



A. Stems solid, cylindrical. 

 B. Stems rather slender. 



Spikelet 10-30 mm. long H. acuta 2. 



Spikelet 6-10 mm. long H. multicaulis 3. 



B. Stems hairlike, short H. acicularis 4. 



1. H. sphacelata, R. Br. Stems thick, erect, hollow, tall, with transverse partitions, 

 rising from a creeping rootstock ; spikelet 3-6 cm. long ; glumes flattish, obtuse, stiff ; 

 nut compressed-globose, finely pitted, shorter than the 6-8-bristles. 



In marshes throughout the southern districts and South-East, and as far north as the 

 Flinders Range. Nov. -Jan. 



2. H. acuta, R. Br. Stems slender, usually about 30 cm. high, from a creeping root- 

 stock ; spikelet linear oblong, 1.-3 cm. long, acute ; glumes almost acute, with a green keel 

 and brown sides ; nut biconvex, with 5-6 bristles ; upper leaf-sheath truncate, with a 

 minute point. 



Near water, from the South-East to the Far North. Sept. -Feb. 



3. H. multicaulis, Sai. Stems more slender and often shorter than in the preceding, 

 filiform ; leafsheaths obliquely truncate ; spikelet oblong, 6-10 mm. long ; nut obovoid, 

 prominently 3-ribbed, smooth, surrounded by 5-6 bristles shorter or longer than itself, 

 and crowned by a conical beak. 



Mount Lofty Ranges ; Kangaroo Island ; South-East. Oct. -Jan. 



