302 
XI. CrPERACEiE. 
[Isolepis. 
the side of the culm, few or many, rooting and throwing out culms from their 
base in wet places. Glumes small, coriaceous, red-brown, obtuse, concave in 
flower, keeled in fruit ; striate, red-brown, with green nerves and margin. 
Stamen 1. Nut broadly obovate, striate, pale, dotted, compressed, 3-gouous. 
Stigmas 3. — I. setacea, A. Cunn. in part, not Br. 
Throughout the Northern and Middle Islands, abundant, Banks and Solander, etc. 
Equally abundant and variable in Australia and Tasmania; also found in S. Africa, St. 
Helena, and I think the same plant occurs in Chili. More than one species (and perhaps 
states of some of the following) may be confounded under forms of this. 
3. I. riparia, Br . — I. setacea, FI. N. Z. i. 271 in part, not Br. Small, 
1-4 in. high, densely tufted. Culms almost dliform, with 1 leaf at the base, 
tips acute. Leaf setaceous. Spikelet 1, rarely 2, lateral, ovoid, i— yg in. long. 
Glumes 5-8, broadly ovate, obtuse, keeled, green or brown. Stamens 3. Nut 
compressed, 3-gonous, smooth or minutely dotted. Stigmas 3. — FI. Tasm. 
ii. 89. t. 145 C.; I. setosa (misprint for setacea ), Kaoul. 
Common in marshy places throughout the Northern and Middle Islands. Also found 
in South Africa and Chili. 
4. I. cartilaginea, Br. ; — FI. N. Z. i. 271. Culms short, densely tufted, 
rigid, leafy at the base, f- 2 in. high, tips acute. Leaf subulate, channelled, 
keeled. Spikelets 1 or more, lateral, small, % in. long. Glumes concave, 
grooved, thickly keeled, very coriaceous, with a thick obtuse mucro and chest- 
nut-brown lines on each side. Stamens 2 or 3. Nut elliptic-oblong, obtusely 
3-gonous, white, punctulate. Stigmas 3. — FI. Tasm. ii. 89. t. 145 A, B. 
Northern Island: wet places, probably common, but overlooked, Colenso , Sinclair. 
Abundant in Australia, Tasmania, and S. Africa ; and I think also in Chili. 
5. I. aucklandica, Hook.f. FI. Antarct. i. 88. t. 50. A bright-green, 
flaccid, very leafy, densely tufted species. Culms 3-5 in. high, rather stout, 
chestnut-brown, much branched at the base, terete, striate, tips obtuse. 
Leaves similar to the culms and as long, plano-convex, obtuse. Spikelet 1, 
rarely 2, t V _ tV i* 1 - long, broadly ovoid, pale or brown. Glumes 6-8, ovate, 
concave, coriaceous, obtuse, with an obtuse excurrent thick keel. Stamens 3. 
Nut 3-gonous, white, quite smooth, not polished. Stigmas 3. 
Northern Island : marshy places in the interior, Colenso. Lord Auckland's group 
and Campbell’s Island : common in marshes. In many respects this so closely resembles 
some states of I. prolifer, that I should not be surprised if they proved identical, meanwhile 
the differences in habit are too great to admit of their union ; the nut is usually larger and 
stamens 3. Some of the Chilian specimens named I. pygmcea in the ‘ Flora Antarctica’ are 
certainly identical with this, the nut being rather smaller than usual. It is also very nearly 
allied to, if not the same as, a S. African plant. 
6. I. basilar is, Hook. /., n. sp. Culms small, densely tufted, green, 
leafy, 1-2 in. high, much branched at the base. Leaves setaceous, plano- 
convex, channelled above, obtuse at the tip. Spikelets 1 or 2, almost radical, 
i-i in. long, narrow oblong, pale green. Glumes rather numerous, oblong, 
obtuse, membranous, with an indistinct, thick, excurrent midrib. Stamens 2. 
Nut much smaller than the glume, broadly obovoid, compressed, not angled 
nor 3-gonous, pale-brown, smooth, not polished. Stigmas 2. 
Northern Island : mud banks of Ngaruroro river, Colenso. A most distinct little spe- 
cies, with the almost radical spikelets of the Australian I. acaulis, and the Cape I. humilis, 
but differing in character from both. 
