Order GRAMINEAE. 
Genus Stipa. 
Sub-Order Stipace^e. 
Genus XII., 2.—STIPA, Linnaeus. 
Spikelets pedicelled, 1-flowered, panicled or sub-racemose, erect. Empty glumes persistent, membranous, 
keeled. Flowering glume rigid, rolled round the flower, with a terminal bent awn, spirally twisted below 
the bend, and articulating on the flowering glume. Falea and grain enclosed in the glume. Scales 
large. Distribution of Genus: TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE REGIONS OF BOTH 
HEMISPHERES. Etymology ;• From the Greek word for tow, made from flax. 
STIPA PETRIE!, n.s. 
PETRIE’S STIPA. 
(Plate XVII. , 2.) 
An elegant tufted grass, with long wiry roots, found at 1000 feet altitude. Flowers December— 
January. Perennial. Culms numerous, 12—18 inches high, erect, slender, smooth, grooved. Leaves 
shorter than the culms, erect, smooth, involute, filiform. Sheathing leaves long ; ligule membranous, 
sheathing. Panicle erect, 3—8 inches long, broad at the base and tapering to an acute top; branches 
filiform in distant whorls, each branch with from 2—5 terminal spikelets. Spikelets ^ inch long, 
1-flowered. Empty glumes membranous, glabrous, upper 3-nerved. Flowering glume shorter, rolled 
round the palea and seed, villous on the back, and with a short circle of hairs at base, 5-nerved, 
bifid at the top, with a long central bent or waved awn, which is spirally twisted near the bottom. 
Palea bifid, 2-nerved, villous or with scattered hairs on the back. Scales linear, very obtuse. Anthers 
long. Grain narrow, smooth. Distribution of Species : NEW ZEALAND. 
This beautiful and interesting grass was discovered by Mr. Petrie on a recent visit to the Lake 
District of Otago, proving that much still remains to be done before the botanical treasures of these 
inland mountain districts are exhausted. Several grasses new to science, as also some new to New 
Zealand, although found previously in Australia and already described by authors, have been added to 
the flora of New Zealand since the publication of Hooker’s Handbook of the Flora, and these 
discoveries should stimulate those who have opportunities of visiting the interior districts to make 
collections. Nothing is known of the value of this grass in pastures, but species of Dichelachne , to 
which the present is closely allied, are valuable pasture grasses. However, it is certainly worthy of 
cultivation as an ornamental grass. Distribution of Species in New Zealand: SOUTH 
ISLAND: CROMWELL, OTAGO, 800—1000 FEET—W. Petrie. 
Reference to Plate XVII., 2 : Fig. 1. Plant. 2. Spikelet. 3. Floret. 4, 4'. Nervation of empty 
glumes. 5. Nervation of flowering glume. 6. Nervation of Palea. 7, 7'. Scale. 8, 8'. Grain, front 
and side views. 
