96 CYPERACEAE. 11. Caustis. 



dark-brown, 2-flowered, only the upper one fertile ; stamens 3 ; nut obovoid, obtusely 

 trigonous, smooth, whitish. 



Southern districts ; Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas. Most of the year. 



4. G. deusta (R. Br.), Benth. Resembles the preceding, but is a stouter plant 30-50 cm. 

 high ; leaves with woolly orifices to the almost black sheaths and subulate blades which 

 are scabrous downwards, especially near the involute margins ; panicle narrow, 20-30 

 cm. long, with erect distant branches and several long, leaflike bracts ; spikelets becoming 

 black, 2-flowered ; glumes acuminate, the outer ones ciliate ; stamens 5-8 ; nut smooth, 

 trigonous. 



Southern districts, at least as far south as Coonalpyn ; Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas. 

 Aug. -Dec. .•-'., 



5. G. psittacorum, Labill. Stems stout, about 2 m. high ; leaves inrolled, scabrous, 

 with long subulate points ; panicle compound, oblong, 40-60 cm. long, the branches 

 erect or drooping, the lower bracts leaflike ; spikelets numerous, at first brown, finally 

 black, 2-flowered ; outer glumes obtuse and mucronate, the flowering ones very obtuse 

 or notched ; stamens 4 ; nut ovoid, trigonous, bright-red, 3-4 mm. long. 



Mount Lofty Range ; the Coorong. Dec. -Feb. 



11. CAUSTIS, R. Br. 



(Greek kaustos, burnt, scorched : from the appearance of the sheathing bases.) 

 . 1. C. pentandra, R. Br. Stems erect, from a creeping rootstock, the branches stiff, 

 plano-convex ; leaves reduced to black, closed, pointed sheaths ; spikelets brown, narrow, 

 12-15 mm. long, erect, usually 2 from the same sheath, of which 1 is pedicellate ; glumes 

 stiff, acuminate, outer empty ones 4-5, then a male flower, and above it a fertile flower 

 with 5 stamens ; style -branches 3 ; nut crowned with the larger persistant pubescent 

 base of the style ; no hypogynous bristles. 



Square Waterhole (Mount Lofty Range) ; Kangaroo Island : South-East. Nov.-Jan. 



12. LEPIDOSPERMA, Labill. 



(Greek lepis, lepidos, a scale ; sperma, seed : alluding to the hypogynous scales sur- 

 rounding the nut.) 



Spikelets paniculate, with 1 fertile flower and usually 1 or more male flowers below it ; 

 glumes few, imbricate all round the rhachilla, a narrow empty one above the fertile flower ; 

 stamens usually 3 ; style 3-fid, deciduous ; nut trigonous with a pale cushion-like summit ; 

 hypogynous scales 6, enlarged and thickened under the fruit ; leaves basal. Perennials. 



A. Stems hollow, biconvex, tall ; leaves equitant. . 



Stems over 6 mm. broad . L. exaltalum 1. 



Stems under 6 mm. broad L. longitudinale 2. 



A. Stems solid, compressed, hard ; leaves equitant. 

 B. Stems with sharp edges, not viscid. 



C. Stems 8-20 mm. broad L. gladiatum 3. 



C. Stems 3-7 mm. broad 



Panicle short and dense L. concavum 4t. 



Panicle long and narrow L. laterale 5. 



C. Stems about 2 mm. broad. 



Upper bracts long and awned L. congestum 6. 



Upper bracts glume-like L. lineare 7. 



B. Stems with rough viscid edges L. viscidum 8. 



A. Stems cylindrical, usually slender. 

 D. Panicle narrow, 3-7 cm. long. 



Leaves cylindrical L. canescens 9. 



Leaves flatfish L. semiteres 10. 



D. Panicle interrupted, spikelets clustered, black. 



Panicle 8-10 cm. long ; spikelets 4-6 mm L. striatum 11. 



Panicle 2-3 cm. long ; spikelets 10 mm L. carphoides 12. 



1. L. exaltatum, R. Br. Stems 1-2 m. high, 6-7 mm. broad, biconvex with acute edges ; 

 pith continuous ; leaves similar ; panicle 10-25 cm. long, narrow, the lowest subtending 

 bract 4-10 cm. long ; spikelets brown, 6-7 mm. long, densely crowded on the erect panicle- 

 branches, with 1-4 barren flowers besides the fertile one ; scales under the nut united 

 towards base, acuminate, the points quite glabrous. 



In the South-East from Glenelg River westwards ; Square Waterhole (Mount Lofty 

 Range). Summer. 



2. L. longitudinale, Labill. Not very satisfactorily distinguished from the preceding, 

 except that the pith is interrupted, the stem usually rather narrower, the panicle looser 

 and not so long. 



Myponga (Mount Lofty Range). Summer. 



