Flora of New Zealand Series

U. silvestris Hamlin var. squamata Hamlin in Bull. Dom. Mus., Wellington 19, 1959, 28.

Type locality: Mt Egmont. Type: WELT, 2222, "The Swamp" 880 m., under Danthonia rigida in swamp, Hamlin 418, 21/2/1955.

Densely caespitose, 25–40 cm. tall. Culms c. 30 cm. × c. 0.5 mm., glab., subtrigonous or almost terete; basal sheaths straw-coloured or light brown. Lvs 4–6 per culm, <, = or > culms, 1–1.5 mm. wide, often dull red, occ. green, moderately scabrid on margins and upper surface. Spikes (3.5)–6–9–(12) cm. × c. 3 mm., female fls c. 10–20, rather distant, internodes to 12 mm. long at base of spike, c. 3 mm. long above. Glumes = or >, or rarely slightly < utricles, persistent, ovate-lanceolate, acute, membr., red or green with pale hyaline margins. Utricles 4.5–6 × c. 1 mm., subtrigonous, elliptic-lanceolate, striated or scarcely nerved, grey-green or reddish grey, contracted below to a stipe us. slightly > 1.5 mm. long, narrowed above to a beak slightly < 1.5 mm. long.

DIST.: N. Mt Egmont. S. Boulder Lake, Nelson, and southwards from c. lat. 42º30', rare in Westland and not known from Fiordland. St.

Tussock grassland, scrub or bog to 1,200 m. altitude.

U. silvestris var. squamata. Type: WELT, 2953, Owake Flat, Clutha County, Petrie no. 7848 in Herb. Cockayne, Jan., 1887. Plants determined as U. silvestris var. squamata differ little from the type of U. egmontiana except that the culms are > lvs, and green plants as well as red are included within var. squamata while only red plants have been collected on Mt Egmont. On 10/4/1966 at Boulder Lake Hut, N. W. Nelson, 3224', W. D. Burke collected both red and green plants and also red plants c. 15 cm. tall, i.e. about half normal size (WELTU).

U. egmontiana may be distinguished from other spp. with persistent glumes, except U. silvestris and U. strictissima, by having glab., semi-terete culms.