248 CYPERACEAE, | Uneimia. 
w- Se. Nok, pte + 71. 
9. U. leptostachya Raoul Choi “(1846) 12, t. 58.— Rhizome short. 
Culms densely tufted, slender, trigonous and scabrid above, leafy 
at the base, 1-2 ft. high; sheaths brown or purplish-red at the base. 
Leaves usually much longer than the culms, slender, flat, js—, in. 
broad; margins scabrid. Spike 1/-5in. long, very slender, lax- 
flowered ; male portion short, almost filiform; bract setaceous or 
filiform, longer or shorter than the spike, sometimes wanting. Glumes 
laxly placed, often distant in the lower part of the spike, oblong-lanceolate, 
acute or obtuse, trom % as long to as long as the utricle, green or 
purplish-red, l-nerved on the back, membranous. Ubtricle narrow-lanceolate 
or almost fusiform, trigonous, distinctly scabrid above, faintly nerved ; 
bristle twice as long as the utricle—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 286; 
Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 309; C. B. Clarke in Journ. Linn. Soc. xx (1883) 
389; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 803; Kukenth. in Pflanzenr. Heft 38 
(1909) 62. U. scabra Soott in Hook, f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 285. 
U. disticha Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx (1888) 210. 
NortH AND SoutH Isianps, Stewart Isranp.—From Mangonui southwards, 
not uncommon. Sea-level to 3000 ft. November—January. 
The distinctly scabrid utricles at once separate this from all its allies. Its habit 
1s that of coarse states of U. riparia. Kukenthal keeps up Boott’s U. distans as a 
variety. I must confess my inability to find any distinguishing characters. 
10. U. riparia 2. Br. Prodr. (1810) 241.—.Rhizome tufted. Culms 
slender, leafy, triquetrous, slightly scabrid above, 9-20in. high. Leaves 
equalling or exceeding the culms, flat or slightly involute, s'-75 in. broad, 
somewhat rigid; margins scabrid. Spike linear, 14-4 in, long, lax and 
often interrupted below, denser above, $-¢in. broad; male portion 
variable in length; bract usually wanting, but sometimes present and 
exceeding the spike. Glumes lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, subacute 
or obtuse, 1-3-nerved. Utricles exceeding the glumes, suberect, oblong- 
lanceolate, narrowed towards a spongy and stipitate base, faintly nerved, 
about 41m. long.—Boott im Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. ii (1860) 102, t. 1528: 
Benth. Fl. Austral. vii (1878) 432; C. B. Clarke in Journ. Linn. Soc. xx 
(1883) 392; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 803; Kukenth. in Pflanzenr. 
Heft 38 (1909) 63. (%) U. obtusata Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvi (1884) 341. 
Var. affinis Colenso ex C. B. Clarke l.c. 392.—Culms 12-24 in. high, weak. Spikes 
longer, 2-4in., lax-flowered. Utricles longer than the glumes.—Kukenth. l.c. 63. 
U. laxiflora Petrie in Trans. N.Z, Inst. xvii (1885) 271. Barely separable as a variety. 
Var. Banksii C. B. Clarke in Journ. Linn. Soc. xx (1883) 392.—Leaves narrower, 
almost filiform, s+; in. broad. Glumes very short, often not more than half the 
length of the utricle.—U. Banksii Boott in Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 287; Handb. 
N.4, Fil. (1864) 310. U. capillaris Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx (1888) 210. 
Var. Hookeri Kukenth. in Pflanzenr. Heft 38 (1909) 63.—Culms smaller, 3-8 in. 
long, weak, smooth. Spike continuous, 14-12 in. long. Glumes chestnut. Utricles 
equalling the glumes.—U. Hookeri Boott in Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i (1844) 91, t. 51. 
NortH anp Sours Istanps, SrewartIstanp: The typical state from the Pirongia 
Mountain and Taranaki southwards; var. affinis with much the same distribution, 
but not so plentiful; var. Banksii from the North Cape to Foveaux Strait, but most 
common in the north; var. Hookeri abundant in the AUCKLAND, CAMPRELL, AND 
ANTIPODES ISLANDS, Macquarie IsLAnp. 
The best characters of this variable plant are the tall leafy habit, narrow flat 
leaves, long and linear very lax spike, and pale glumes nearly alwavs shorter than the 
