Flora of New Zealand Series

Original localities: Nelmes listed a number of specimens but indicated no type. AK 2815, Mt Arthur Plateau, Nelson, 4,000 ft, T. F. Cheeseman, Jan., 1886, may be taken as representative. Also in Tasmania.

Tuffs rather stiff. Culms (5)–10–15–(30) cm. × 1–1.5 mm., smooth, trigonous, lower half us. ensheathed by lvs; basal bracts cream to dark grey, rarely reddish. Lvs much > culms, 2–3 mm. wide, double-folded but almost flat, margins and keel scabrid towards the tip with small, close-set teeth. Infl. of 3–8 yellow-green, sessile, densely crowded spikes forming a head up to 3 cm. long and up to 2.5 cm. diam., occ. all spikes androgynous, or terminal spike male, 1–2 cm. × 1.5–2 mm., lateral spikes female or androgynous, upper more often androgynous, lower more often female, 6–15 × 6–8 mm.; bracts subtending infl. lf-like, often overtopping the foliage lvs. Glumes much < utricles, oblong-ovate, obtuse, membr., white, sts tinged with brown, the centre green, with white midrib not us. excurrent. Utricles 3.5–4.5 × c. 1.5 mm., inflated or subtrigonous, ovoid, rather bright yellow-green, spreading when mature, nerves well-marked; beak 1–1.5 mm. long, very narrow, green, papillose, shortly bifid with scabrid orifice or almost entire; stipe minute or absent. Stigmas 3. Nut c. 1.5 mm. long, trigonous with thickened angles, especially near centre of nut, obovoid, light yellow-brown.

DIST.: S. Scattered localities; not recorded from Marlborough. St.

In swamps from sea level to 1,300 m. altitude, us. inland.

C. flaviformis belongs to the "flava" complex of spp. which is represented in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres. N.Z. plants were included by Kükenthal (Pflanzenr. 38, 1909, 675) and Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 278) under C. oederi Retz. var. cataractae (R.Br.) Kük., but Nelmes (op. cit.) showed that these Tasmanian plants are taller and more slender, with smaller glumes and utricles. C. demissa Hornemann, another member of the "flava" complex has been introduced into N.Z. but may be distinguished from C. flaviformis by the smaller, light green, more distant spikes.