Page:Manual of the New Zealand Flora.djvu/853

Carex.] Easily distinguished by the strict whitish-green culms and leaves, almost diœcious inflorescence, and long and narrow utricles. It and C. kaloides are close allies of the North American and north Asiatic C. siccata, Dewey.

7. C. kaloides, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 332.—Pale-green, forming tussocks very similar to those of Poa australis. Culms densely tufted, slender, drooping at the tips, obtusely trigonous, grooved, smooth, leafy towards the base, 1–3 ft. high. Leaves shorter than the culms, $1⁄12$–$1⁄8$ in. broad, flat or involute, grassy, deeply grooved; margins scabrid above. Inflorescence in small specimens forming a lax linear spike 3–5 in. long; in larger ones a panicle 4–9 in.; branches few, the lowest sometimes 2 in. long. Spikelets ¼–⅓ in. long, numerous, usually rather distant, pale, few-flowered, either androgynous with the male flowers at the top, or some (usually the upper) wholly male; and others (usually the lower) wholly female; bracts very long, foliaceous, often exceeding the panicle. Glumes ovate-lanceolate, long-acuminate, membranous, pale, almost hyaline. Utricle narrow-lanceolate, narrowed at the base, plano-convex, nerved, gradually tapering upwards into a long subulate bidentate beak, the margins of which are ciliate-serrate. Styles 2. Nut dark-brown, oblong, lenticular.—''Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst.'' xvi. (1884) 429.

8. C. teretiuscula, ''Good. in Trans. Linn. Soc.'' ii. (1794) 163.—Rhizome creeping and rooting. Culms laxly tufted, not forming dense tussocks, 1–2 ft. high, slender, wiry, triquetrous, grooved, scabrid above. Leaves shorter than the culms, $1⁄20$–$1⁄12$ in. broad, flat, grassy, deeply grooved; margins scabrid. Spikelets small, ovoid, few-flowered, androgynous, male flowers few at the top, brown or brownish-green, collected into a linear-oblong or linear dense or interrupted compound spike ¾–1¼ in. long; bract usually obsolete. Glumes almost equalling the utricles, ovate, acute, membranous, pale-brown; margins broad, pale. Utricle rather small, shortly stipitate, ovoid, gibbous or almost cordate at the base, plano-convex or unequally biconvex, brown, shining, smooth on the flat face, more or less distinctly ribbed on the convex side, narrowed into a rather long almost winged serrate bidentate beak. Styles 2. Nut obovoid, biconvex.—''Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 281; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 313; Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst.'' xvi. (1884) 427.

Swampy places from Lake Taupo southwards, not common. Abundant throughout. Sea-level to 3000 ft. December–March.