Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Australian. Type: BM. Recorded also from Japan and New Guinea.

Culms 7–40–(60) cm. × 0.5–1 mm. Lvs <, rarely = culms. Spikelets 4–6 mm. long, 2–3–(4)-fld. Glumes us. reddish, rarely cream near the midrib. Nut with surface cells conspicuous under a lens.

DIST.: N. Throughout. S. Nelson, Marlborough Sounds, rare in Canterbury, only local.

In scrub, on damp grassy banks, in damp ground at roadsides or on swamp margins, also found on dry clay hillsides; from sea level to 500 m. altitude.

S. laxiflorus Steud. was described from plants collected at Hobart, Tasmania. The type sheet at P is labelled "S. laxiflorus Bobat Town, Tasmania ex herbo Urville com. Chauvin."

S. brownii Hook. f. was published as a nom. nov. for Chaetospora imberbis R.Br.

S. vacillans Kirk. Type: WELT, 20661, "Deep gullies at source of the Matai River, Mt Wynyard" Kirk no. 135 to K; isotypes at AK, WELTU and K. Occasional plants of S. apogon have a rather loosely clustered infl. of up to 6 distant fascicles of ± pedunculate spikelets. The type of S. vacillans has this form of infl.