Order GRAMINEZE. 
Genus Echinopogon. 
Sub-Order AcRosTiDEiE. 
Genus X.—ECHINOPOGON, Palisot. 
Spikelets sub-sessile, on short branches closely arranged into an oblong or ovoid, dense spike-like 
panicle, p —i^-inches long, bristling with rigid spreading awns, i-flowered. Empty glumes 2, equal. 
Flowering glume as long as the empty, with a pencil of silky hairs at the base; awn terminal. Palea 
nearly equal in length to the flowering glume, with a short stiff pedicel at the base. Scales 2. 
Stamens 3. Ovary bearded at the top. Grain free. Distribution of Genus: AUSTRALIA, 
TASMANIA, NORFOLK ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND. Etymology : Named from two Greek 
words meaning “ scabrid ” and a “ beard.” 
1.—ECHINOPOGON OVATUS. 
ROUGH-BEARDED GRASS. 
{Plate XIII. B.) 
Agrostis ovata, Forster. Labill., FI. Nov. Holl., I., ig, t. 21. 
Hystericina alopecurioides, Steudel. 
Echinopogon ovatus, Palisot. Hook, fil., FI. N.Z., I., 297; Handb. N.Z. Flora, I., 325. 
A harsh scabrid grass, 6—24 inches high, ascending to 3000 feet altitude. Annual. Flowers 
November—January. Leaves scabrid on the edges. Sheath of upper leaf long; ligule short. 
Spikelets green, nearly horizontal, 1-flowered. Empty glumes equal, rigid, acuminate, 1-nerved. 
Flowering glume with a pencil of silky hairs at the base, 2-fid at top, 3-nerved; awn terminal, long, 
rigid, not twisted, involute, flattening out when wet and pressed, as if a continuation of the glume. 
Palea nearly as long as the flowering glume, i-nerved, and with a short stiff pedicel at the base. 
Scales 2, ovate-lanceolate. Anthers large. Ovary bearded on top. Styles short. Stigmas long, 
feathery. Grain long, narrow. Distribution of Species: SAME AS THE GENUS. 
A grass widely distributed throughout the Islands, but never found abundant anywhere. It is 
eaten by sheep and cattle, but is of little value from its harsh non-succulent foliage and straggling 
habit. Commonly found on dry banks and other waste places, it can only be recommended as an early 
grass, but would probably not repay cultivation. Distribution in New Zealand : COMMON 
IN NORTH AND SOUTH ISLANDS. 
Reference to Plate XIII. B.: Fig. 1. Plant. 2. Spikelet. 3. Floret. 4. Nervation of empty 
glumes. 5. Nervation of flowering glume. 6. Nervation of Palea. 7. Scale. 8. Ovary with feathery 
stigmas. 9. Grain. 
