Eleocharis'\ 
XI. CYPEBACEjE. 
301 
finger, 1-2 ft. high, cylindrical, hollow, with distant joints, contracted towards 
the top, stoloniferous at the base. Spikelet 1-2 in. long, terminal, solitary, 
erect, cylindric. Glumes numerous, linear-oblong, obtuse, membranous, flat, 
in. long. Bristles 6-8, stout, retrorsely scabrid. Nut obovoid, compressed. 
Northern Island: in marshy places, Cunningham, Colenso ; Bluff Island, Lyall ; 
Auckland, Sinclair. A common Indian, Pacific Island, and Australian plant, usually tropi- 
cal, hut extending into Tasmania. 
2. E. gracilis, Br. ; — FI. N. Z. i. 270. Culms creeping, deeply grooved, 
slender, striate, cellular, 6-24 in. high, sheathed at the base, sheaths chest- 
nut-brown, mucronate. Spikelet very pale, white or reddish, terete, £— §■ in. 
long, narrow, ovoid, subacute. Glumes few, linear-oblong or obovate, ob- 
tuse, membranous, transparent, flat. Bristles 4-6, retrorsely scabrid. Nut 
broadly obovate, compressed, 3-gonous, shining. Stigmas 3. 
Var. /3. gracillima. Culms very slender. Spikelet short. Glumes ovate-oblong, lower 
longer. Bristles 5 or 6, longer than the nut. — E. acicularis, A. Cunn., not Linn. 
Var. 7. radicans. Small, rhizome stout, creeping, almost woody. Culms filiform, 2-3 
in. high. Spikelet x V-i in. long. Glumes few. Bristles 6. 
Common in boggy places throughout the Northern and Middle Islands, Banks and 
Solander, etc. Var. fl. Bay of Islands. Var. 7. Bay of Islands, in sandy places. Also abun- 
dant in Australia and Tasmania. Too nearly allied to the European and almost ubiquitous 
E. palustris, which has only 2 stigmas. The var. 7 is a very peculiar-looking plant, and 
may be a different species. 
6. ISOLEPIS, Br. 
Usually very small, slender, tufted green herbs. Leaves slender or 0. — 
Spikelets small, terete, solitary or fascicled, lateral, rarely panicled or solitary 
and terminal, basal in I. busilaris. Glumes few or numerous, imbricated all 
round the rachis, most floriferous. Bristles 0. Stamens 1-3. Nut 3-go- 
nous or compressed, usually tumid at the top ; style jointed on to its top. 
Stigmas 2 or 3. 
A very large genus, found in all parts of the globe. 
Culms stout, leafless, puugent. Spikelets capitate 1. I. nodosus. 
Culms slender, leafless, usually flaccid and proliferous 2. 7. prolifer. 
Culms very slender, 1 -leaved. Spikelets 1 or 2. Nut smooth . . 3.1. riparia. 
Culms short, rigid, 1- or 2-leaved. Spikelets 1-3. Nut pitted . . 4. I. cartilaginea. 
Culms slender, leafy. Spikelets 1 or 2. Nut white, smooth . . 5.7. auclclandica. 
Culms short, leafy. Spikelets 1 or 2, basilar. Nut obovoid . . . 6. 7. basi/aris. 
1. I. nodosa, Br. ; — FI. N. Z. i. 270. Culms stout, tali, leafless, 1-3 
ft. high, compressed below, cylindric above, sheathed at the base, tips acute. 
Spikelets aggregated into dense globose heads, below the erect pungent top 
of the culm, ovoid, \ in. long. Glumes broadly ovate, obtuse, coriaceous, con- 
cave. Nut compressed, scarcely 3-gonous, smooth, polished, pale-brown, 
apiculate; stigmas 3. 
Throughout the Northern and Middle Islands: abundant in marshy places, Banks 
and Solander , etc. Kermadec Islands, M‘ Gmivray. Also common in Australia and 
Tasmania, and very closely allied to the widely distributed 7. Holosclicenus. 
2. I. prolifer, Br. ;—Fl. N. Z. i. 271. Very variable in size and habit. 
Culms stout or slender, weak, often filiform, striate, stoloniferous, usually 
leafless, terete or compressed, 2-12 in. long, sheathed at the base, usually 
obtuse at the tip. Spikelets small, In - long, ovoid, aggregated on 
