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Art. XXXVI.—Descriptions of New Native Plants.
[Read before the Auckland Institute, 25th February, 1901.]
Danthonia planifolia, sp. nov.
Stems solitary, not tufted, 1 ft. high or less, having one or two young branches at the base, slender, glabrous, clothed below with the withered sheaths of old leaves, sparingly leafy. Leaves less than half as long as the culms, glabrous; the sheaths dilated, striate, pale-yellow; the blades flat, acute, in the cauline leaves much shorter than the sheath; ligule a band of longish slender hairs. Panicle ovate, open, about 2 in. in length; branches and pedicels silky. Spikelets few (6 to 12), rather large (½ in. long, ⅜ in. wide), more or less tinged with purple, usually 4-or 5-flowered. Empty glumes nearly equal, about as long as the spikelets, acute, the lower faintly 3-nerved below, the middle nerve evident throughout, the upper 3-to 5-nerved. Flowering-glumes bifid; lobes membranous, acute, not awned, with a broad middle awn flattened and more or less twisted, a hairy band along the middle, and a fringe of fine hairs along the lower edges; pedicel silky; palea deeply bifid, with silky nerves and a fringe of long hairs along the lower edges.
Hab. Scrubby slopes leading up to the Clinton Saddle, between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound, on the eastern side of the saddle (2,500 ft.).
I formerly regarded this grass as a variety of Danthonia australis, Buchanan, which it closely resembles in the size and structure of its spikelets. It differs from Buchanan's species in never forming tufts, in its flat leaves with dilated sheaths, in its more numerous spikelets, and in the very silky edges of the palea. I saw no plant with more than one culm, but, as the stems usually show one or two branchlets at the base, it is likely that more than one culm may be occasionally developed. The usual course of events is for the flowering-stem to fall off and a branch from the base to produce a new flowering-stem next season. The stems are fairly stout at the base, and are evidently several years old. The plant is of sparing occurrence in this habitat, and, as it is rather inconspicuous, is by no means easy to detect. In half an hour's hunting not more than twenty specimens were collected. It appears to have little economic value.
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Deschampsia tenella, Petrie, var. procera.
This strongly marked variety differs from the type in the larger size of all its parts. The culms are stouter; the panicle shorter, more effuse, and fewer-flowered; and the spikelets are twice the usual size.
It was collected in open scrub and low bush near the head of the Clinton River, where the track to the Clinton Saddle diverges from the valley. The station is about 1,800 ft. above the sea.
Glyceria novæ-zealandiæ, sp. nov.
A. tufted erect annual, 6 in. to 15 in. high, glabrous, and almost white when dry. Leaves strict, with broad loose striate sheaths and shorter involute striate blades, the topmost one equalling the panicle, which is partly enclosed in its sheath; ligule scarious, as long as broad, lobed, the middle lobe subacute. Panicle 3 in. to 6 in. long, contracted, the branches short and clustered. Spikelets-pedicelled, the uppermost sessile, white and shining, ¼ in. long, mostly 4-flowered. Empty glumes unequal or nearly equal, one-half the length of the spikelet, glabrous; the lower narrow, acute, and 1-nerved; the upper broader, almost oblong in outline, obtuse or subacute or slightly lobed, 3-nerved; the middle nerve continued to the tip. Flowering-glumes stiff, glabrous or finely downy on the back below, oblong-ovate, suddenly contracted at the tip so as to leave a subacute median projection, 5-nerved, the middle nerve continued to the apex. Palea as long as the flowering-glume, stiff, bifid, the nerves pilose or almost glabrous.
Hab. Wet littoral stations on the south coast of Otago.
The present plant was distributed by the late Mr. T. Kirk, F.L.S., as Poa walkeri, sp. nov. In some respects it approaches Poa, but I am of opinion that it cannot be properly included in that genus. The spikelets differ widely from those of the other indigenous species of Glyceria.