Art. XLI.—Description of new Species of Carex.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 13, 1880, Page 332

Art. XLI.—Description of new Species of Carex. By D. Petrie, M.A. [Read before the Otago Institute, 1st February, 1881.] Carex parkeri, n.s. A Small slender species; culms 3–5 inches; leafy at and above the base, smooth, grooved; leaves flat, smooth, striate, shorter than the culm, sheathing at the base; sheaths more membranous and strongly striate; spikelets two or three, forming a compact head; bract glume-like, with a short awn; male flowers below, female above; glumes ovate, obtuse or subacute, one-nerved, dark-purplish, paler at and near the nerve; utricle subequal with or longer than the glume, ovate oblong, rather compressed, with entire beak and numerous faint nerves; stigmas two. This species stands near C. colensoi. Hab. A hill near Mount Aspiring, 5,000 feet. Carex kaloides, n.s. A tall, slender, cæspitose species; culms drooping, two feet or more, sparingly leafy at the base, rounded, smooth; leaves shorter than culm, narrow, flat or involute, deeply grooved, slightly scabrid at the edges, most tenacious; spikelets 9–12, lower compound distant, upper approximate, arranged on alternate sides of the long (3–5 inches) scabrid rachis; lowest bract setaceous, very long; male flowers at the top few, sometimes wanting, female flowers below; glumes linear-lanceolate, scarious, 1–3-nerved, the nerves produced into a slender awn; utricle linear-lanceolate, plano-convex, ending in a tapering two-winged bifid beak, the wings finely serrate; stigmas two, short. A very distinct species. The leaves have an exceedingly strong fibre. Hab. Carrick range, Otago, 4,000 feet; Deep Stream, Otago, 1,000 feet. Carex viridis, n.s. A slender tufted species; culms erect, 6–12 inches, grooved, smooth; leaves sheathing at the base, narrow, concave, smooth, shorter than the

culm; spikelets 6–9, few-flowered, crowded into a compound spike about one inch long, and arranged alternately on the flattened rachis; bracts glume-like, scarious, linear-lanceolate, 1–3-nerved, the nerves produced into a slender awn; male flowers above few and wanting in many spikelets, female below; glumes linear-lanceolate, pale, membranous, acuminate, one-nerved; utricle linear-lanceolate, nerved, plano-convex; beak long, very narrow, tapering, 2-dentate, with two finely serrated wings; stigmas two. This species is close to C. kaloides, described above. Its stouter leaves, small habit, and short compact head of spikelets, at once distinguish it. Hab. Rough Ridge, 3,000 feet; Nevis Stream, Otago, 2,000 feet.