S. brevifolius, R. Br. Prodr. 231.—Rhizome short, stout, creeping. Stems rush-like, densely tufted, rigid, erect, terete, smooth and polished, 1–2 ft. high. Leaves reduced to 3 or 4 dark red-brown appressed sheaths at the base of the stem, the uppermost of which has a short rigid erect subulate lamina ½–1 in. long. Panicle narrow, 3–8 in. long; branches slender, erect; bracts at the base with appressed sheaths and a short erect lamina. Spikelets lanceolate, compressed, ⅓–½ in. long, 2–3-flowered, red-brown. page 781Glumes 6–9, distichous, ovate-lanceolate, acute, concave, nerveless; margins ciliate; the 4–6 outer smaller and empty. Hypogynous bristles wanting. Stamens usually 2. Style - branches 3. Nut small, turgid, obovoid, trigonous with the angles thickened, faces transversely rugose.—Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 370. S. tenax, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 298. Chætospora tenax, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 273.

North Island: From the North Cape to Cook Strait, but rare and local to the south of Rotorua. South Island: Nelson—Aorere Valley, Kirk! Sea-level to 1500 ft. December–January.

Also in extratropical Australia.

S. Tendo, Banks and Sol. ex Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 298.—Rhizome stout, creeping. Stems much more slender than in S. brevifolius, 1–3 ft. high, rigid, deeply grooved throughout their length. Leaves reduced to 2–3 dark chestnut-brown or almost black sheaths at the base of the stem, the uppermost produced into a subulate lamina ¼–½ in. long; the mouths of the sheaths fringed with cobwebby hairs. Panicle slender, narrow, 2–8 in. long; branches short, slender, erect. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, compressed, 2–4-flowered, ¼–⅓ in. long, dark-brown or almost black. Glumes 8–10, distichous, ovate-lanceolate, acute, concave, keeled, nerveless except the midrib; margins ciliate; the 5–6 outer smaller and empty. Hypogynous bristles 3–6, short, slender, sometimes not equalling the nut. Stamens 2. Style-branches usually 2. Nut obovoid, unequally and obliquely biconvex, quite smooth, white.—Chætospora Tendo, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 273.

North Island: Abundant on clay hills from the North Cape to Hawke's Bay and Taranaki. South Island: Nelson—Aorere Valley, Kirk. Sea-level to 2000 ft. October–January.

Easily distinguished from the preceding species by the more slender grooved stems, smaller darker spikelets, the presence of bristles, and by the smooth biconvex nut.

S. Carsei, Cheesem. n. sp.—Rhizome short, stout, creeping, clothed with chestnut-brown scales. Stems densely tufted, very slender, 1–2½ft. high, terete, grooved. Leaves reduced to 2–3 chestnut-brown sheaths at the base of the stem, produced at the tip into an erect subulate lamina ½–2 in. long; the mouths of the sheaths oblique, glabrous. Panicle slender, narrow, 2–6 in. long; branches filiform, erect; bracts at the base with appressed sheaths, and a short erect lamina. Spikelets numerous, compressed, very narrow, ¼–⅓ in. long, linear-lanceolate, acute, brownish. Glumes 5–7, distichous, closely imbricate, ovate - lanceolate, acuminate, concave, keeled, thin and membranous, nerveless; the 3–4 outer empty. Hypogynous bristles wanting. Stamens 3. Style-branches 3. Nut oblong, obtuse at both ends, not trigonous, smooth, white.

North Island: Auckland—Swamps at Whangarei and between the Manukau Harbour and the Waikato River, H. Carse! Papatoetoe, Kirk! Taranaki—Ngaire Swamp, T. F. C. January–March.

This seems to have been confounded with S. pauciflorus, but differs from that species in the shorter leaves, longer panicle with numerous spikelets, in the absence of bristles, and in the nut. It is probably common in lowland swamps.

S. pauciflorus, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl 298.—Rhizome short, stout, branched at the tip. Stems densely tufted, very slender, deeply grooved, 1–3 ft. high, green or purplish-red. Leaves reduced to 2–4 dark chestnut - brown or almost black sheaths at the base of the stem, the uppermost of which is produced into an erect almost filiform lamina 1–3 in. long; the mouths of the sheaths oblique, glabrous. Panicle small, ¾–2 in. long, of 2–8 spikelets; bracts usually 2, overtopping the panicle. Spikelets lanceolate, compressed, ¼ in. long, 2–4-flowered, varying in colour from whitish to dark chestnut-brown. Glumes 4–6, distichous, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, keeled, nerveless except the midrib; margins glabrous; the 3 outer slightly smaller, empty. Hypogynous bristles 6, filiform, almost equalling the style. Stamens 3. Style-branches 3. Nut elliptic-oblong, trigonous with the angles thickened, smooth, polished, pale-brown.—Chætospora pauciflora, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 273.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island: An abundant mountain-plant from Lake Taupo southwards. 1500–5000 ft. December–March.

This hardly differs from the Chilian Chætospora antarctica, Hook, f., except in the much shorter leaves.

S. axillaris, Poir. Encycl. Suppl. ii. 251.—Stems very slender, pale-green, flaccid, leafy, branched, creeping or diffusely spreading, often intricate, 2–6 in. long or more. Leaves alternate, spreading, ½–1 in. long, very narrow-linear, obtuse, flat or nearly so, flaccid. Spikelets 1–3 together in the axils of the leaves, sessile or shortly peduncled, about 1/10 in. long, compressed, pale-brown, 1–2-flowered. Glumes distichous, lanceolate, subacute, keeled; the 2 or 3 outer empty and smaller. Hypogynous bristles 6, rarely fewer, longer than the nut. Stamens 3. Style-branches 3. Nut very small, elliptic-obovoid, obtusely trigonous, quite smooth, white or greyish-white.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl 298; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 375. Chætospora axillaris, R. Br. Prodr. 233; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 274, t. 62a; Fl. Tasm. ii. 82. Scirpus foliatus, Hook. f. in Lond. Journ. Bot. iii. 1844, 414.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands: From the North Cape southwards, abundant in the North Island, less plentiful in the South Island. Sea-level to 2500 ft. November–March.

Easily recognised by the slender creeping or diffuse, habit, leafy stems, spikelets in twos or threes in the axils of the leaves, and small white nut. Also common in extratropical Australia and Tasmania.

S. apogon, Roem and Schult. Syst. ii. 77.—Stems very numerous, crowded, weak, slender, sometimes almost filiform, grooved, leafy at the base, 6–14 in. long. Leaves much shorter than the stems, narrow-linear, acute, almost flaccid, channelled in front, convex and striate on the back. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, chestnut-brown or almost black, ⅛–⅙ in. long, 1–3-flowered, few or many together in irregular more or less compact umbels or heads, which are both terminal and lateral from the upper leaf-sheaths; bracts leafy. Glumes distichous, oblong-lanceolate, acute, keeled, almost black with narrow pale margins; the 3 outer empty, usually much smaller. Hypogynous bristles 6, not much exceeding the nut. Stamens 3. Style-branches usually 3. Nut small, broadly oblong-obovoid, obtusely trigonous, conspicuously reticulated, white.—S. Brownii, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 298; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 373. Chætospora imberbis, R. Br. Prodr. 233; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 274; Fl. Tasm. ii. 82.

Var. laxiflorus, C. B. Clarke.—Stems very slender, lax, sometimes 2 ft. long. Inflorescence much more lax; clusters mostly lateral; spikelets often long-peduncled.—S. laxiflorus, Steud. Cyp. 166. S. vaccilans, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. x. (1878) 421.

North Island: Auckland—Mongonui, T. F. C.; Puhipuhi, Kirk; Whangarei, Carse! vicinity of Auckland, T. F. C., Petrie! East Coast, Colenso! Var. laxiflorus: Between Taheke and Opanake, Petrie! ravines near the base of Mount Wynyard, Kirk! between Te Aroha and Katikati, Adams! Taranaki—White Cliffs, T. F. C. South Island: Canterbury—Kowai Pass, Kirk! (the typical form). Sea-level to 2000 ft. December–March.

Common in eastern Australia, from Queensland to Tasmania.

S. nitens, Poir. Encycl. Suppl. ii. 251.—Rhizome slender, creeping. Stems densely tufted, slender, wiry, grooved, leafy at the base, 2–12 in. high. Leaves few, shorter than the stems, semiterete, deeply channelled in front, grooved on the back; sheaths chestnut-brown or blackish-brown, shining, grooved. Inflorescence a terminal head of 1–15 densely crowded and sessile spikelets; bracts ½–1 in. long, exceeding the spikelets, continuous with the stem, so that the head appears lateral. Spikelets ovoid to lanceolate-ovoid, somewhat turgid, ⅛–⅕ in. long, 2-or more rarely 3-flowered, chestnut-brown to blackish-brown. Glumes 4–6, obscurely distichous, broadly ovate, obtuse, concave, keeled, shining; the 2 or rarely the 3 outer smaller and empty. Hypogynous bristles 6, usually longer than the nut, plumose at the base with long hairs. Stamens 3. Style-branches 3. Nut ovoid, obscurely trigonous, smooth and shining, pale-brown to dark-brown.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 299; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 362. S. Moorei, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 384 (not of Benth.). Chætospora nitens, R. Br. Prodr. 233; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. 'Zel. i. 274; Fl. Tasm. ii. 82. Scirpus nitens, Boeck. in Linnæa, xxxvi. (1869–70) 696.

Var. concinnus.—Smaller, more rigid and wiry, 1–3 in. high. Spikelets solitary or rarely 2 together, slightly compressed, ⅙–⅕ in. long, dark-brown or almost black. Nut rather larger, broadly ovoid, trigonous, sometimes scabrid at the tip.—S. concinnus, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 299. Chætospora Concinna, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 274, t. 62, f. b.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island: From Lake Taupo southwards, but often local. Sea-level to 2500 ft. December–March.

A most variable plant. Hooker's S. concinnus appears to me to be a depauperated state connected with the type by numerous intermediates, and I have consequently followed Mr. C. B. Clarke in reducing it to S. nitens. The typical form is not uncommon in Australia, ranging from Queensland to. Tasmania and Western Australia.