PLATE 426. 
lMtA(ii!()STis Atiikkstonki, Stii])!'. (Fl. ( ';vp., Vol. A^TT., ]). r,()7). 
Nnt. Oi'dci- rji';imIii(';o. 
Perennial. — CUtlms erect, simple or with 1-2 l)rniielie.s from the iip])er iirHlcs, 
over 2 feet loiig, wii'y, i^-labrous, smooth, ahout .j-iioded, lowest leiio-thciicd, iiiter- 
iiodes about k foot loni;', like the up})er long exserted, with a riiii;' of moic oi- less 
distinct i;-la.uds below the nodes ; slieaths ti^ht, glabrous, sm(»oth, sul)striate, inter- 
mediate I to 1|- inch long ; ligul(^ a fringe of minute liairs ; blades nari'ow, linear, 
tapering to a tine ])(^int, C) to 8 inches, by 1 to 1^- line, more or less in\ ()]ute or 
convolute, rather tirni, scaberulous on the upper side, otherwise smootli. 
PANfCiLE oblong, erect, lax, ;") to G inches, by I to I j line; axis filifoiin, 
smooth ; branches whorled, the lowei' in M'liorls of 4 to 7, obli(piely erect or sliglitlv 
spreading, loosely divided from near the base, longest I to inch long, capillai \' 
or subca])illai'y, straw-coloured, smooth, bearded at the axds ; branchlets capillarv, 
subdivaricate, sboi't, .'!- 1 -spiculate, smoot li or scabei ulous ; lateral pedicels about t 
line long. 
Spt RELETS scatter(Ml, lanceolate, I to 2 lines long, grey, 2 to 4 -flowered ; 
rhachilla subpersistent. 
GiJTMES sube(pial, lanceolate in ]irofile, acute or acuminate, veiy d(>licate, 
fiintly l-nerved, up to I line long, or the hnver slightly sliorter'. Valves oblong, 
subobtuse, ^^ line long, thinly membranous, smootli or almost so, side-ner\es short, 
flint. Pales e(pial to the valves, keels scabeiulous and tine. Anthers line long. 
Grain pallid, translucent, oblong-ellipsoid, over [ line long. 
Eclhitcit : Natal. Without precise locality, Biu-lKinfni 277. 
By an unfortunate erroi- in the Flora Oapensis, Natal is credited w itli the 
grass Eragrostis Lehmanniana, which ^\•as really gathered in the Orange Uiver 
Colony, and is tlu^'e (pioted as Bncliaiian 2(')7, the ([notation : " Natal, without 
precise locality, BnchdiKi ii. 277 " should have come u)idei' \\. Atherstonei. The 
specimen figured from was Bucliaiian's 277, which is the only one in the Herbarium, 
and we find tliat the culms are 2 -.T- branched, and the leaves | line Avide, and onlv 
4 inches long, the sheath cses also are long-l)earded. ])r. Stapf, who has pointed 
out these difl:erence\s, is of opinion that, witli the scantv material at our dispersal, 
the separati(^n of the Natal plant as a \anetv is not at ]»reseiit advisable. 
Fin' 1, Lnwor olimic : 'J, iipptM' tilinnc : .■), vnlvc ; I, ])alc ; .3, ]>istil, stiiniotis ami Indicules, 
, }// i iiliir<i((l. 
