GF Beemer) CYPERACEAE. 249 
utricles. The two varieties afinis and Banksii differ very slightly from the type ; but 
var. Hookert is more distinct. On the whole, however, I think that Kukenthal is right 
in regarding it as a variety of U. riparia. 
In addition to the mainland of New Zealand and the islands to the south of it, 
U. riparia has been recorded from Australia and Tasmania, New Guinea, and Lord 
Howe Island. 
11. U. rubra Boott in Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 287, t. 64, f. a.— 
Whole plant red, red-purple, or brownish-red, usually forming a con- 
tinuous sward. Culms 6-14 in. high, stout or slender, strict, rigid, leafy 
at the base, trigonous and scabrid above. Leaves much shorter than the 
culms, rarely equalling or exceeding them, flat or slightly involute, rigid or 
submembranous, striate, s-~4,in. broad ; margins scabrid. Spike 1 1-2 in. 
long, rigid, linear, lax, continuous or slightly interrupted towards the base ; 
male portion short : bract wanting. Glumes oblong-lanceolate, acute or 
obtuse, rigid, red or red-brown, slightly exceeding the utricle, obscurely 
l-nerved on the back. Utricle lanceolate, tapering at both ends, glabrous, 
faintly nerved, about ¢in. long; bristle nearly twice as long as the 
utricle—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 310; C. B. Clarke wm Journ. 
Linn, Soc. xx (1883) 390; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 804; Kukenth. 
in Pflanzenr. Heft 38 (1909) 64. 
Var. fallax Kukenth. in Pflanzenr. Heft 38 (1909) 64.— Culms more slender. 
Leaves usually equalling the culms, jin. broad, less rigid. 
Nortu Isntanp: Elevated districts of the interior, from the Upper Waipa, 
Waimarino, and Taupo southwards. Souta Is~tanp, Stewart Isnanp: Not un- 
common in mountain districts, descending to sea-level in Stewart Island. 
Closely allied to U. riparia, but usually well distinguished by the bright-red colour, 
the rigid terete culms, and the shorter leaves, which seldom equal the culms. 
12. U. strictissima Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xlvii (1915) 55.—Dark- 
reddish or greenish-brown, very densely tufted, forming tussocks similar 
to those of a Juncus. Culms 15-25in. high, strict, firm, erect, deeply 
erooved, scabrid above. Leaves equalling the culm or rather shorter, flat 
or deeply concave, s5-7,1n. broad, striate, greenish or reddish-brown, 
the sheaths more or less rubescent; margins and midrib scabrid. Spike 
14-3 in. long, narrow-linear, slender, rigid, lax-flowered ; male portion 
very short and slender. Bract leafy, from 14 to twice as long as the spike. 
Glumes oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or acute, closely appressed, reddish or 
brownish-green, margins often scarious. Utricle usually longer than the 
glume, lanceolate, tapering at both ends, faintly nerved. Bristie usually 
twice as long as the utricle—U. rnigida Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvii 
(1885) 271 (not of Boeck.). U. rubra var. ngida Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 
(1906) 804. U. rubra var. strictissima Kukenth. in Pflanzenr. Heft 38 
(1909) 64. 
Soutu Istanp, Stewart Istanp, AUCKLAND IsLANDS: Probably not uncommon 
from the Clarence Valley southwards, Se to 3000 ft. 
ery mt . =e ° Mek, q tp Car 2 a’ vr. 
13. U. rupestris Raoul Chow (1846) 18, t. 54.—Culms densely 
tufted, smooth, slender, leafy, 4-8in. high, clothed with sheathing 
scales at the base. Leaves ustaly longer than the culms, flat or slightly 
involute, rigid, channelled, 3';—;, in. “broad : margins scabrid. Spike 
1-14 in. long, narrow Kear -oblong, rather dente, male portion short but 
evident; bract often wanting, but sometimes present and exceeding 
— 
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