Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Australian. Type: K.

Tufted. Culms (3)–6–30–(75) cm. × 0.5–1.5 mm., grooved, flaccid or rather rigid, occ. curved. Lvs , (5)–10–20–(30) cm. × 0.5–1.5–(2) mm., us. <, but occ. > culms, rigid, lamina narrow-linear, flat or concavo-convex, tip obtuse; sheath broad, brown, shining; lower portion of lamina and mouth of sheath minutely serrulate. Infl. a terminal corymb, occ. condensed and almost forming a head, or spikelets in 4–6 loose stalked clusters; bracts subtending infl. 1–2, lf-like; bracts subtending spikelets more glume-like. Spikelets 8–12 mm. long, pale and shining, 1-fld. Glumes us. 5, lanceolate, ± obtuse, stiffly membr., keeled, the 2 lower shorter, the next larger pair subtending the fl., the fifth glume setaceous. Hypog. bristles 6, plumose with silky hairs almost to the tip, then scabrid, > glumes when mature. Nut 2.5–3 mm. long, slightly < 1mm. wide, trigonous, minutely punctulate, shortly stipitate, pale to dark brown, surmounted by the dried and rigid, long, narrow, smooth or minutely hairy style-base.

DIST.: N. Southwards from lat. 36º30' S., St., A.

Common in bogs in mountain districts from 300–1,800 m. altitude; occ. occurs at sea level in Southland and on St. and A.

FL. 12–1. FT. 2–4.

Kükenthal in Fedde Repert. Spec. nov. Regn. veg. 47, 1939, 113, describes the style-base as smooth. The majority of specimens from North Id have minutely hairy style-bases but specimens from South Id resemble Australian plants in having a smooth style-base, except for one gathering from Mt Stokes, Marlborough. In the closely related South American C. schoenoides, the style-base is minutely scabrid while in plants of C. alpina from New Guinea it is distinctly scabrid and there are a few projections on the edges of the nut as well.

Plants collected from pakihi-land on the West Coast of South Id are us. taller and more slender than average, with narrower lvs.