2-4 pollicares, superiorum pedales, trigones v. compressa?, dorso coriacea?, carinata?, rigida?, nervosa?, profunde striata?, antice scariosa?, hyalina?, albida? ; ore integro, abrupto, margine nndulato ; ligula angusta, conica, integerrima. Bractea foliacea?, folia superiora omnino simulantes sed minores, spicis multoties longiores, vaginis abbreviatis. Spicte 2-4-unciales, 3-5 lin. lata?, late cylindracea? v. elongato-ovata? v. oblongas, obtusa? v. subacuta?, basi saepius attenuata?, aristis elongatis squamarum quasi erinita?, inferiores rarius bifida?, v. spicula abbreviata subtensa? ; mascula? suprema?, 2-4, approximata?, ceteris breviores, medio sa?pius tiirgida?, breviter pedicellata? v. subsessiles, basi brevissime vaginata?; bractea abbreviata, spiea brevior, torta; fceminea longiores, longius pedicellata?, fructiferae squarrosa?. Pedunculi breviter exserti, sub uneiales, trigoni, striati, scaberuli, saepe apices versus flexuosi. Squama scariosa?, forma varia?, lineari- v. oblongo-lanceolata?, 3-4 lin. longa?, planiuscula?, erecta?, florifera? appressa?, fructiferae squarroso-subrecurva?, omnes striata?, castaneo-brunnea?, nitida?, linea pallida medio notata?, ad apices integrae, in aristam aequilongam vel ter longiorem producta?, vel sa?pius trifida?, segmento intermedio elongato arista?formi; arista straminea, erecta, flexuosa, liispida, interduni unc. longa. Stamina 3 ; anthera lineares, straminea?, 2-3 lin. longae. Perigynium iminaturum elliptico-ovatum, utrinque attenuatum, pedicellatum, squama A brevius, valde compressum, dorso convexum, ore bifido : stylus 1, una cum stigmatibus 3 perigynio a?quilongus. Fructus (exemplaribus Americanis tantum mihi visus), majusculus, squama? suba?quilongus, elongato-obovatus v. obovato-oblongus, turgidus, sublonge pedicellatus, obscure trigonus, superne rostratus, ad apicem bidentatus, fulvus, nitidus. Achanium parvum, perigynio duplo brevius, obovato-ellipticum, utrinque acutum, glaberrimum, angulis acutis, luride fuscum. Pericardium crustaceum. Embryo basi albuminis totus inclusus.
This is a very handsome species, discovered by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander in New Zealand, though first described from Falkland Island specimens by Cavanilles. In Antarctic America it is more abundant, and attains a larger size than it does in Lord Auckland's group, but I can detect no further difference between them ; Dr. Boott also considers them entirely the same. In Cavanilles' figure the scales are represented as shorter and more abruptly truncated than they are in most of my specimens ; they, however, vary so much in form that little dependence can be placed upon that character. M. D'Urville, in his Flor. Ins. Mai. 1. c, describes this species under the name of C. aristata and says of it, "forsan eadem species ac C. trifida, Cav. ? verum in nostra nunquam squamam trifidani vidi." Cavanilles' character, however, "gluma apice trifida, laciniis lateralibus latioribus, media breviore ex qua arista prodit subulata," &c, seems to me sufficiently to accord with this and M. D'Urville's plant, whilst his characteristic figure leaves no doubt of their identity, or at least of the latter being a variety with all the scales short, in our plant it is only on the lower part of the spikes that they are so broad. The embryo appears to me wholly included in the base of the albumen.
3. Cabex appressa, Br.; spica decomposita androgyna subelongata, partialibus appressis inferioribus distinctis, spiculis parvis ovatis acutis apice rnasculis, bracteis subulatis spicula brevioribus elongatisve, squamis ovatis acutis concavis, perigyniis late ovato-rotundatis infra orem minute bidentatum attenuatis utrinque nervosis marginibus supra medium denticulatis, stigmatibus 3. C. appressa, Brown, Prodr. p. 242.
Hab. Lord Auckland's group and Campbell's Islands ; in the woods especially near the sea, forming large harsh tufts.
Rhizomata intertexta, dense fasciculata, ca?spites 5-6 uncias latos formantia, repentia, crassiuscula, diametr. penna? corvina?, hie illic fibrosa, ad colluin reliquiis folioi-um vetustorum obtecta. Cidmi erecti, exteriores inclinati, ascendentes, basi una cum vaginis folioriun crassit. digiti minoris, pedales et infra, supeme nudi, paido inclinati, scaberuli, sulcati, rigidi, triquetri, ad angulos scabridi; pars spicas gerens 3-5-unciaHs, stricta. Folia plurirna, S-10 quovis culmo, basi vaginantia, flexuosa, rigida, divra, 2-3 pedalia, unc. lata, in apiceni elongatiun, trigo- num, scabridmn producta, medio canaliculata, subtus pra?cipue profunde striata, acute carinata, carina marginibusque lente recurvis denticulato-ciliatis, pallitle riridia, subnitida, subtus palbdiora. Vagina 1-2-unciales, obtuse trigona?, compressa?, profunde striata?, coriacea?, antice scariosa?, Integra? ; ore integerrimo, truncato ; ligula angusta,
