216 CYPERACEAE. | Mariscus. 
margins and keel sharply and minutely serrulate. Inflorescence a large 
terminal umbel often more than 6in. diam.; rays 6-10, each bearing an 
oblong spike 1-2 in. long of very numerous red-brown spikelets ; bracts 
numerous, forming an involucre at the base of the umbel, very long and 
leafy, the lowest frequently over 2{t. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, 3-1 in. 
long, 5-20-flowered. Glumes distichous, ovate-oblong, obtuse or mucronate, 
smooth and shining, grooved. Stamens 3, Nut linear-oblong, trigonous ; 
style-branches 3.—Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 766. Cyperus ustulatus 
A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. (1832) 101, t. 17; A. Cunn. Precur. (1836) n. 270 ; 
Raoul Choix (1846) 40; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 268; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 
(1864) 297. 
Jota randi ie slo Sees » KinKen en Corse : 
KERMADEC ISLANDS: Plentiful, 7. F. C., W. R. B. Oliver! Nortu Istanp: 
Abundant in lowland districts at low levels throughout. SourH Istanp: Chiefly 
near the coast, extending as far south as Okarito (Hamilton) and northern Otago 
(Buchanan). Stewart Istanp: Half-moon Bay, Miss Chase ! Sea-level to 1500 ft. 
Toeloe-upoko-tangata ; Toetoe-whatu-manu. November—January. 
SS a eae Ose 
Honeys bive Sh p, , 4 ELEOCHARIS R. Br. [€'O, 
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Stems simple, erect, without perfect leaves. Sheaths few, the upper- 
most. cylindric, truncate or produced on one side into a short tooth. 
Inflorescence a single terminal many-flowered terete spikelet. Glumes 
many, imbricate all round the rhachis; the lowest 1 or 2 empty, shorter 
than the spikelet ; many succeeding ones hermaphrodite and fruit-bearing ; 
the uppermost male or sterile. Hypogynous bristles usually 6, but varying 
from 3 to 8, rarely absent. Stamens 3 or fewer. Style swollen at the base ; 
branches 3 or 2, linear. Nut obovoid, trigonous or plano-convex. 
‘ 
Species estimated at 100, distributed over the whole world, but most numerous in 
America. Of the 5 found in New Zealand, 2 are endemic, 2 extend to Australia, the 
remaining one is almost cosmopolitan. 
A. Limnochloa. Stem stout, spikelet large, hardly wider than the stem. Gilumes sub- 
rigid. ; 
Stems stout, septate. Spikelet 1-2in. long .. a4 .. l. H. sphacelata. v 
B. Eleogenus. Stem slender. Spikelets small, broader than the stem. Glumes mem- 
branous. Style 2-fid. 
Stems short, 1-24 in. Spikelet $—} in. a me .. 2. EH. neo-zealandica. 
C. Eu-Eleocharis. Stem slender. Sypikelet small, broader than the stem. Glumes mem- 
branous. Style 3-fid. 
Stems 2-6 in., filiform. Spikelets 4-}in., compressed. Nut longi- 
tudinally ribbed and transversely striate .. " .. 3. E. acicularts. 
Stems 4-18 in., rather stout. Leaf-sheath truncate with an erect 
mucro. Spikelet }-2in. Nut smooth | 4. H. acuta. 
Stems 3-15 in., very slender. Leaf-sheath oblique, acute. Spikelet 
4+in. Nut smooth ‘ sd ae a ss 
¥ 
E. Cunninghamir. 
1. E. sphacelata R. Br. Prodr. (1810) 224.—Rhizome stout, creeping, 
stoloniferous. Stems stout, cylindrical, 1-3 ft. high, din. diam., hollow, 
transversely septate ; sheaths long, membranous. Spikelet very large, 
1—-2in. long, 4in. diam., solitary, terminal, cylindrical, pale-coloured, tip 
acute. Glumes numerous, very closely imbricate, obovate-oblong, obtuse, 
l-nerved, membranous, pale with a brown line just inside the scarious 
margin. Hypogynous bristles 6-9, usually exceeding the nut, retrorsely 
scabrid. Style very long, branches 3, Nut broadly obovoid, compressed, 
