Page:Manual of the New Zealand Flora.djvu/832

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792
CYPERACEÆ.
[Gahnia.
Tall and snout, 5–7 ft. Panicle 2–3 ft., rigid, erect. Glumes 8; 5 empty, subequal. Nut small, ⅙ in., black 5. G. robusta.
Leafy, 2–4 ft. Panicle 1–1½ ft., narrow, lax. Glumes 4; 2 empty, very long. Nut large, ¼ in., red-brown 6. G. procera.
Slender, 2–4 ft. Panicle 9–18 in., slender, narrow but dense. Glumes 4–5; 2–3 empty. Nut small, ⅙ in., black 7. G. lacera.
Small, 6–14 in. Leaves exceeding the stem, spreading. Glumes 6; 4 empty. Nut small, ovoid, apiculate, black 8. G. Gaudichaudi.


1. G. setifolia, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 278.—Seems numerous, tall, stout, 3–7 ft. high, forming large tussocks. Leaves many, almost as long as the stems, involute, with scabrid cutting edges and long filiform points. Panicle large, nodding, 1–3 ft. long, much and laxly branched; branches long, erect in flower, drooping in fruit; bracts long and leafy, with scabrid filiform points. Spikelets very numerous, davk-brown or almost black, ⅙–⅕ in. long, 2-flowered; the lower flower male, the upper hermaphrodite and fruit-bearing. Glumes 7–8; the 4–5 outer ones empty, gradually increasing in length, keeled, acuminate, minutely scaberulous; the 3 upper very small at the time of flowering and concealed within the uppermost empty glume, enlarged in fruit and closely appressed to the nut, obtuse, convolute. Stamens usually 4 to each flower, but varying from 4 to 6; filaments greatly elongated in fruit. Style-branches 3, rarely 4. Nut small, ⅙ in. long, elliptic-obovoid, narrowed at both ends, smooth and shining, indistinctly grooved, red-brown when fully ripe, transversely grooved within.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 306. G. scaberula, G. parviflora, and G. multiglumis, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii. (1886) 278–80. Lampocarya setifolia, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 111; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 282; Raoul, Choix, 40.

North Island: Abundant throughout. South Island: Marlborough—Picton, J. Rutland! Sea-level to 2000 ft. December–January.


2. G. rigida, T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. (1877) 551.—Stems densely tufted, harsh and rigid, erect, 2–4 ft. high. Leaves equalling the stems, with involute scabrid margins and very long drooping filiform points. Panicle stiff, erect, rather narrow, elongate, 1½–2½ ft. long; branches numerous, short, strict, erect; bracts with dark sheaths and long filiform points. Spikelets numerous, crowded, dark-brown or almost black, ⅕–¼ in. long, 2-flowered; the lower flower male, the upper hermaphrodite and fruit-bearing. Glumes 6–7; the 3–4 outer empty, almost equal in length, keeled, narrowed into long acuminate points, scaberulous on the keel, margins paler, membranous; the 3 inner small at the time of flowering, enlarged in fruit, convolute, obtuse. Stamens 4–5 in each flower; filaments greatly elongated in fruit. Style-branches 3. Nut small, ⅙ in. long, oblong-obovoid, smooth, brown, or brown mottled with red and black.—G. exigua, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii. (1886) 279.