Order GRAMINEiE. 
Genus Agrostis. 
Sub-Order Agrostideal 
9.—AGROSTIS SETIFOLIA. 
ALPINE BENT GRASS. 
(Plate XXIV. B.) 
Deyeuxia setifolia, Hook, fil., FI. N.Z., I., 299, t. 65 B. 
Agrostis setifolia, Hook, fil., Handb. N.Z. Flora, I., 329. 
A small alpine grass. Flowers — January. Roots perennial. Culms tufted, glabrous, grooved, 6—8 inches 
high. Leaves very narrow, involute, shorter than the culms, glabrous ; ligule oblong. Panicle 1—2-inches 
long, contracted, branches short. Spikelets few, —-g-inch long, shining. Empty glumes unequal, 
3-nerved, lateral nerves short. Flowering glume sessile, truncate, 4-toothed, ^ shorter than the empty 
glumes, 5-nerved, and with long silky hairs at base ; awn nearly twice as long as the glume, proceeding 
from the middle of the back. Palea nearly as long as the glume, bifid, 2-nerved, and with a long silky 
pedicel at back. Scales entire, oblong, acute. Styles short. Stigmas longer, feathery. Distribution 
of Species : NEW ZEALAND. 
This grass, as far as at present known, appears to be limited in distribution to a few alpine 
localities in the North Island; it possesses a close habit of growth and succulent nature, and would 
prove a valuable addition to any pasture. The alpine pastures of New Zealand are unvisited during 
winter owing to the presence of snow, but are much frequented by sheep in the South Island during 
summer, when the lower lands are short of feed; and, no doubt, when the alpine portions of the Tararua 
and Ruahine Mountains, where this species is only found, are opened up for stock by clearing away 
the bush from their lower slopes, their grazing capabilities will prove equally as valuable as those of 
the South. Distribution in New Zealand : NORTH ISLAND : RUAHINE MOUNTAIN 
AND LAKE WAIKARE—Colenso; TARARUA MOUNTAIN—H. H. Travers. 
Reference to Plate XXIV. B. : Fig. 1. Plant. 2. Spikelet. 3. Floret. 4, 4. Nervation of 
empty glumes. 5. Nervation of flowering glume. 6. Nervation of Palea. 7. Scale. 8. Ovary. 
