THE VASCULAR FLORA OF MACQUARIE ISLAND.—C'HEESEMAN. 
31 
Prior to 1898, when Dr. Buchenau, the great authority on the Juncacece, 
published his masterly memoir on “ Luzula campestris and its allied species ” (Oesterr. 
Bot. Zeit. (1898), all botanists were practically agreed in maintaining Luzula crinita 
as a separate species. It is true that Hooker, who, when he originally described it in 
1844, remarked that “ this appears to be a very distinct species, most nearly allied to 
L. Alopecurus Desv,” had twenty years later acquired some doubts as to its distinctness, 
for in the “ Handbook” he says “ probably only a gigantic form of L. campestris , with 
broader leaves and more ciliated bracts.” Still, so far as I am aware, no botanist 
proposed any change until Buchenau approached the subject. The robust habit, and 
particularly the broad leaves and bracts, with their distinctly thickened and con¬ 
spicuously ciliate margins, the compact and dark-coloured inflorescence, usually 
reduced to a single conglobate head, undoubtedly give the plant a most distinct 
appearance. But all the above characters are uncertain and highly variable; and 
Buchenau is perfectly justified in remarking that “ this form cannot be kept up as a 
species, as the degree of ciliation, and the breadth of the leaves, &c., are unreliable 
characters.” Students of the genus would do well to carefully study Buchenau’s 
memoir, quoted above, and also his later summary given in the Pflanzenreich (25, 
pp. 84 to 95). 
Yar. crinita has been observed by all visitors to Macquarie Island, and appears 
to be generally distributed in suitable localities from sea-level to a considerable height 
on the hills. H. Hamilton’s collection contains six sheets of specimens, showing great 
variation in size, degree of robustness, length of leaves as compared with that of the 
culms, degree of ciliation, &c. The inflorescence, however, is in almost cases massed 
into a single conglobate head. Specimens gathered on swampy flats about 50 feet 
above sea-level reach a height of from 25 to 40 cm., the leaves, however, often not 
attaining half that length. This form appears to have the leaves and bracts much less 
ciliate, but this may be due to the specimens being well advanced in age. On the 
other hand, specimens collected on wind-swept ridges range from 5 to 10 cm. in height, 
the culms being considerably overtopped by the leaves; and the whole plant is stouter 
and more rigid. 
The geographical range of var. crinita is commonly supposed to be limited to 
the islands to the south of New Zealand. But I possess specimens from Stewart 
Island which I cannot distinguish from others gathered on Auckland Island. 
CYPERACEAE. 
Scirpus aucklandicus Boeck. 
Scirpus aucklandicus Boeck in Linnaea, XXXYI (1869-1870), p. 491; Cheesem., 
Man. N.Z. FI. (1906), p. 773, and Subantarct. Islands of N.Z. IT (1909), p. 433. 
Isolepis aucklandica Hook. f. FI. Antarct. I (1844), p. 88, t. 50, and Handbk. 
N.Z. FI. (1864), p. 302; Hemsl. in Bot. Chalk Exped., Part III (1885), p. 266. 
Macquarie Island :—Wet places near the sea. H. Hamilton (1912-1913). 
