base of the stem. Flowers large, solitary, teiminal; bracts at the base 1–3, the lowest one sometimes foliaceous. Perianth-segments 6, glumaceous, distinct, linear-subulate or linear-lanceolate, erect, rigid; margins often scarious. Stamens 6; filaments very short; anthers linear, erect, basifixed. Ovary sessile, 1-celled, with 3 parietal placentas; style stout, subulate, divided above into 3 linear stigmas; ovules numerous, anatropous. Seeds small; testa appendiculate or not; embryo very small, included in the base of the fleshy albumen.
A small genus of 3 species confined to New Zealand and antarctic South America.
| Flowers ¼ in. long, exceeded by a foliaceous bract. Capsule longer than the perianth. Seeds not tailed | 1. R. sphærocarpa. |
| Flowers ¾ in. long; bract very short. Capsule not more than ½ as long as the perianth. Seeds tailed | 2. R. gracilis. |
1. R. sphærocarpa, Desv. Journ. Bot. i. (1808) 327.—Perennial, densely tufted. Stems many, crowded, erect, terete, 4–9 in. high. Leaves several, equalling or exceeding the stems, sheathing at the base, erect, rigid, pungent, polished, channelled in front. Flower solitary, terminal, ¼ in. long; bracts 2, the lowest foliaceous, twice as long as the flower or more, upper small, scarcely equalling the flower. Perianth-segments nearly equal, linear-oblong, acute. Stamens shorter than the segments; filaments linear; anthers longer than the filaments, connective unguiculate. Capsule large, equalling or exceeding the perianth, ovoid-globose, mucronate, hard and almost woody, dark-chestnut, smooth and shining. Seeds obovoid, inappendiculate.—R. magellanica, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 81; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 291; Buchen. Monog. Junc. 70. Juncus magellanicus, Lam. Encycl. iii. 266.
Campbell Island: Mossy and springy places on the hills. Sir J. D. Hooker.
Also recorded from Fuegia, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia, and said to have been gathered on the Andes of Quito at an elevation of 13000 ft. It is included in Armstrong's list of Canterbury plants (Trans. N.Z. Inst. xii. 344), but I believe erroneously.
2. R. gracilis, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 83, t. 47.—Perennial,densely tufted. Rhizome stout, horizontal or inclined. Stems numerous, crowded, erect, terete, smooth, 6–12 in. high, base with several pale or dark fulvous sheaths. Leaves 1–3, from slightly longer to 2 or even 3 times as long as the stems, slender, terete, rigid, grooved in front. Flower large, solitary, terminal, ½–¾ in. long; bract solitary, very small, 110 in. long, entire or 2-lobed. Perianth-segments linear-subulate, pale-chestnut, shining, the inner conspicuously shorter. Stamens 6, much shorter than the segments; filaments very short, broad and flat; anthers linear, 3 or 4 times as long as the filaments, connective unguiculate. Capsule
