Scirpus reticularis (Colenso) Edgar
Isolepis reticularis Col. in T.N.Z.I. 18, 1886, 277.
S. inundatus (R.Br.) Spreng. var. gracillimus Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 1906, 775.
Original localities: "Low wet ground, sides of rivers, and damp shaded woods, where it forms large grass-like beds; Seventy-mile Bush, County of Waipawa; 1880–85: W.C."
Tufted, drooping, loosely carpeting the ground with lax, filiform, light green culms. Culms (4)–10–30 cm. long, < 0.5 mm. diam., smooth, compressed. Lvs 1–3, similar to culms but us. much shorter, lowermost lf reduced to a sheath 1–1.5 cm. long, red towards the base, often with a fine green mucro c. 0.3–0.5 mm. long. Infl. apparently lateral, of 1–3–(5) spikelets, often proliferous; bract subtending infl. us. much > spikelets, often filiform. Spikelets 2–5–(7) × 1–1.5–(1.7) mm., oblong-ovate, us. pale green tinged with red. Glumes 1 to slightly < 2 mm. long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, pale straw-coloured, rather transparent, or sprinkled with dark red dots, or red-striped or almost black, margins entire, pinched in at the tip below the green, slightly excurrent keel, lateral nerves conspicuous. Hypog. bristles 0. Stamens 1. Style-branches 3. Nut c. 1 × 0.5 mm., from ⅔ length of glume to c. = glume, elliptical or obovoid, trigonous, pale straw-coloured, almost white, glossy, markedly apiculate, tip not dark.
DIST.: N. Throughout, but rare on the eastern side. S. Nelson, Westland and Fiordland, rare in Marlborough and Canterbury. St., Ch.
Damp ground in forest, on shaded river flats and on margins of lakes and bogs to 1,000 m. altitude.
Herb. Colenso at WELT contains some 10 sheets from localities within the area of Seventy Mile Bush. Most match the description of Isolepis reticularis but no lectotype has been chosen. Several of these have been annotated by Cheeseman var. gracillima. Cheeseman did not refer to any precise locality in his original description of the var.
Although Cook used the name Scirpus reticularis Col. in T.R.S.N.Z. 81, 1953, 160, this combination was not validly published since the basionym was not clearly indicated with the required reference.
Some specimens collected from near Lake Rotoiti, Nelson, have reddish culms, lvs and glumes, darker brown nuts and 1–3 stamens.
The sp. is characterised by the filiform, drooping culms which make a loose green carpet on the ground.
