STREPTACHNE R. BROWN AND PHEIDOCHLOA GENUS NOVUM, ETC. 17 
bilobed below the awnlet, otherwise acute, in all 9-13*5 though usually 
10-12 mm. long including the awnlet of 1-3 mm. ; lower glume 3- or 
sub-5-nerved, finely scabrous on the keel, elsewhere smooth or nearly 
so; upper glume 1 -nerved, smooth. Lemma very slender, subcylindrical 
in outline, furrowed with involute margins, widest near base and slightly 
tapering upwards, finely punctulate, more or less distinctly scabrous 
in upper part and passing gradually into the column, together with 
the callus usually 7-12 mm. long ; callus very small, about 0*5 mm. long, 
obtuse, rather densely bearded with fine hairs up to 1 mm. long. 
Column slender, scabrous, twisted, straight in direction, oblique or erect 
in relation to the body of the lemma, mostly 4*5-7 mm. long. Central 
(or only) awn slender, firm, straight or slightly curved, bent at an angle 
from the column, scabrous, mostly 9-15 mm. long; lateral awns 
extremely fine, very short, rarely more than 4 mm. though up to 6 mm. 
long, frequently minute or one or both .absent. Palea 1 mm. long. 
Anthers 1*5 mm. long. Grain grooved throughout) its length, about 
5 mm. long and 0*3 mm. wide. 
Queensland. — Cook District: Endeavour R., June-August, 1770, 
Banks & Solander (type of Streptachne stipoides ; drawings only seen) ; 
near Cooktown, May, 1907, Webb (type of Aristida utilis) ; Cooktown, 
Pollock ; Cooktown, on rocky hillsides in open forest, July 3,1st, 1943, 
Blake 15077 ; Chillagoe, on granite hill-slopes, ca. 1450 ft., April 4th, 
1938, Blake 13632; Mt. Molloy, granite hills, 1200 ft., April 11th, 1932, 
Brass 2453 ; Mareeba, in rather bare places in Eucalyptus forest, ca. 
1300 ft., March 27th, 1938, Blake 13459. North Kennedy District: 
Townsville, on Castle Hill, 'on exposed slopes and in Eucalyptus forest, 
March 22nd, 1935, Blake 8149, and on Castle Hill on sandy soil in open 
forest and on exposed slopes, June 7th, 1934, Blake 5946; between 
Stuart and Alligator Creek Meatworks, S. of Townsville, scattered or 
in societies, May, 1942, L. S. Smith T.2 ; Yalley Creek near Proserpine, 
Michael 915. Port Curtis District: Rosedale, common on summit of 
granite mountain, May 10th, 1936, Dovey 829. 
New Guinea. — Papua: Near Moresby, in savanna-forest, August, 
1944, Hilton. 
Under the original description Bailey states that “the long smooth 
peduncles are being used in the manufacture of hats ’ ’ but the grass is 
no longer being thus utilised. In Compreh. Catal. 622, Bailey gives 
“hat grass” as a vernacular name. No information is available as to 
its value for grazing, but it appears to be but little eaten, and grows 
only on poor country. 
A. spuria Domin, l.c., 341 (1915), Henr. op. cit. liv.B 585 (1928) and 
lviii. 149-50, t.58 (1929) is a species very closely allied to A. utilis show- 
ing a parallel degree of reduction of the lateral awns. It differs from 
A. utilis by having glabrous intemodes, fine convolute-setaceous leaves, 
shorter and more or less erect uppermost internodes, usually shorter 
panicle-branches and rather smaller glumes with shorter awnlets. On 
the average the glumes are 6-8 mm. long, sub equal or one or the other 
very slightly the longer, with awnlets of up to 1 mm., the lower gradually 
very acute, the upper acute but somewhat contracted below the awnlet, 
the lower prominently 3- or 5-nerved and scabrous on the nerves, the 
upper 1 -nerved somewhat scabrous on the nerve ; the lemma is furrowed 
with involute margins, usually 8-10 mm. long, rarely slightly longer or 
shorter ; the column is mostly 5-7 mm. long, rarely so short as 4 mm. ; 
