300 
XI. CYPEUACE/E. 
[Scirpus. 
rous, imbricated all round the rachis, all or most floriferous. Bristles 2-8, 
usually scabrid. Stamens 1-3. Nut 3-gonous or compressed, tipped with 
the persistent, often swollen base of the style. Stigmas 2 or 3. 
A very exteusive genus, found in all parts of the globe, chiefly in watery places. 
Culms 3-gonous, leafy. Leaves flat. Spikelets terminal. Involucre long, 
leafy 1. S. maritimus. 
Culms terete, spongy, leafless. Spikelets lateral 2. S. lac/istris. 
Culms 3-quetrous, leafy at base. Leaves 3-quetrous. Spikelets lateral . 3. S. triqueter. 
1. S. maritimus, Linn. ;—Fl. N. Z. i. 269. Roots tuberous. Culms 
leafy, 2-6 ft. high, acutely 3-gonous. Leaves long, flat, keeled, edges sca- 
brid. Umbels terminal, involucrate, irregular; rays 6-10. Spikelets 1-3, 
sessile, ovoid, pale brown, | in. long ; involucral leaves long, grassy. Glumes 
numerous, glabrous or scaberulous, membranous, ovate, obtuse, entire or 2- 
fid, awned or mucronate. Nut 3-gonous or ovate, compressed. Bristles 
2 or 3, retrorsely scabrid. Anthers twisted after flowering, apiculate. Stig- 
mas 2 or 3. 
Northern and Middle Islands : near the sea, Banks and Solander, etc., abundant. 
Root formerly eaten by the natives. Abundant in Australia, Tasmania, aud most other 
temperate parts of the world. 
2. S. lacustris, Linn. ; — FI. N. Z. i. 269. Rhizome stout, creeping. 
Culms terete, leafless, spongy, 2-8 ft. high, sheathed at the base. Spikelets 
in lateral irregular panicles, ovoid, in. long. Glumes broadly ovate, 
membranous, obtusely 3-fid, mucronate, ciliate. Bristles 6, retrorsely scabrid. 
Anthers apiculate. Nut 3-gonous, shortly obovoid. 
Abundant in lakes, pools, etc., throughout the Northern aDd Middle Islands, Banks 
and Solander, etc. Also found in all temperate aud many tropical countries. Used iu 
Europe for coopering casks, making mats, packing bottles, etc. 
3. S. triqueter, Linn.; — FI. N. Z. i. 269. Rhizomes stout, creeping. 
Culms rather slender, 1—2 ft. high, 3-quetrous. Leaves few, like the culms. 
Spikelets 1 or more, fascicled, sessile, lateral, | in. long, broadly ovoid, 
dark-brown. Glumes membranous, broadly obovate-oblong, often ciliate, 
bracteate, 2-fid, with a short stiff awn. Anthers with a rather long point, 
twisted after flowering. Nut, bristles, etc., as in S. maritimus. 
Common throughout the Northern and Middle Islands, in wet places. Banks and 
Solander, etc. Also found in Australia, Tasmania, and many other parts of the world. 
5. ELEOCHARIS, Br. 
Culms tufted, erect, terete, usually simple and leafless, sheathed at the 
base. — Spikelet solitary, terminal, erect, terete or angled. Glumes numerous, 
imbricated all round the rachis, most floriferous. Bristles 3-6, scabrid. 
Stamens 3. Nut 3-gonous or compressed, swollen at the top. Style jointed 
at the base, deciduous. 
A large genus in the northern hemisphere, temperate and subtropical, rarer in the 
southern. 
Culms stout, hollow, septate 1. E. sphacelatus. 
Culms slender, pith continuous 2. E. gracilis. 
1. E. sphacelata, Br. ,- — FI. N. Z. i. 269. Culms as thick as the little 
