Gahma. | CYPERACEAE. 239 
produced into long filiform points. Panicle very large, 2-5 {t. long, drooping, 
excessively branched; branches long, slender, pendulous, 9-18 in. long 
or even more ; bracts long, leafy. Spikelets innumerable, densely crowded, 
brown, 4-Lin. long, 2-flowered ; lower flower male, upper flower herma- 
phrodite and fruit-bearing. Glumes 6-7; the 3-4 outer empty, not very 
different in length, ovate, shortly acuminate ; the 3 upper smaller, deeply 
concave, obtuse. Stamens usually 4 to each flower ; filaments lengthening 
much in fruit. Style-branches 3-4. Nut large, 4-}in. long, elliptic-oblong 
or -obovoid, acute at both ends, smooth and shining, sometimes indistinctly 
erooved, black when fully ripe, yellowish when immature, transversely 
grooved within.—Benth. Fl. Austral. vii (1878) 418; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. 
Fl. (1906) 793. G. ebenocarpa Hook. f. ex T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. 1 
(1869) 149. Lampocarya xanthocarpa Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1 (1853) 278. 
Cladium xanthocarpum F. Muell. Fragm. Phyt. Austral. ix (1875) 13. | 
pote "> Xe | ‘Ly ties “wet . MR. O, 
Norra Istanp: Not uncommon in forests throughout. SourH Istanp: Mar!l- 
borough—J. Rutland! Nelson—Motueka Valley, T. F.C. ; Westport, W. Townson ! 
Westland—Hokitika, 7’. Kirk! Martin’s Bay, Poppelwell and Thomson! Canterbury— 
Haast, J. B. Armstrong. Sea-level to 2500 ft. February—March. 
The finest species of the genus, at once identified by its large size, enormous 
panicles, and large black nut. It forms a marked constituent of almost all forest 
districts in the North Island, particularly in the kauri forests, and also extends along 
the west coast of the South Island ;zas far as ede Bay: It is apparently not 
uncommon in Lord Howe Island. >< '~=>"' a-C-0t. #1gBs : | 
5. G. robusta 7. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvi (1894) 261.—Stems 
robust, as thick as the little finger, 6-7 ft. high. Leaves almost as long 
as the stems, involute, with scabrid margins and long filiform points. 
Panicle large, 2-3it. long, dense, narrow, erect ; branches 5-10in. long, 
strict, erect; bracts leafy, with long filiform points. Spikelets crowded, 
dark-brown or almost black, 2-flowered ; lower flower male, upper herma- 
phrodite and fruit-bearing. Glumes usually 7; the 4 outer empty, sub- 
equal, awned; the 3 inner small in the flowering stage, but enlarged in 
fruit, concave, coriaceous, obtuse. Stamens 4-6 in each flower, elongated 
in fruit. Style-branches 2-4. Nut small, $-+in. long, elliptic-obovoid, 
black when fully ripe, transversely grooved within.—Cheesem. Man. N.Z. 
Fl. (1906) 794. 
Norru IsuaAnp: Wellington—Mungaroa, 7’. Kirk! March. 
My knowledge of this plant is confined to the specimens in Mr. Kirk’s herbarium. 
These greatly resemble G. rigida, but the plant is said to be much larger, and the nut 
to be always black when fully ripe. 
6. G. procera Forst. Char. Gen. (1776) 52.—-Stems stout, densely 
tufted, 2-4 ft. high. Leaves equalling or exceeding the stems, narrowed 
into long filiform points; margins involute, smooth below, scabrid above ; 
sheaths dark-brown or almost black. Panicle slender, lax but narrow, 
elongate, 12-18in. long ; branches often remote, short, erect or slightly 
drooping in fruit; bracts leafy, with purplish-black sheaths. Spikelets 
scattered along the branches or clustered towards their tips, large, 3-3 in. 
long, dark purplish-black, 2-flowered; lower flower male, upper herma- 
phrodite and fruit-bearing. Glumes 4; 2 outer empty, very large and 
exceeding the spikelet, elliptic-lanceolate, mucronate, striate; 2 inner 
shorter, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse. Stamens usually 4 to each flower ; 
filaments elongating greatly in fruit. Style-branches 4. Nut large, in. 
long, narrow-elliptic, smooth and shining, obscurely grooved, reddish-brown 
or reddish-yellow when ripe, transversely grooved within—-A. Rich. FI. 
P- Yo =e 
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