Flora of New Zealand Series

C. appressa R.Br. var. sectoides Kük. in Pflanzenr. 38, 1909, 179.

C. secta Boott in Hook. f. var. sectoides (Kük.) Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 260.

Type: Kükenthal ( var. sectoides) cited two specimens, one collected by Krull of which nothing is known, and also Cockayne no. 8398. WELT 21494 is the only known specimen of this sp. collected by Cockayne on the Chatham Is but it bears no collecting number.

Tussocks forming trunk-like bases up to 1 m. × 50 cm. Culms (15)–40–100 cm. × 2–3 mm., triquetrous, very sharply scabrid, robust, curved over; basal sheaths grey-brown. Lvs = or < culms, 5–8 mm. wide, channelled, with strongly scabrid margins. Infl. a panicle 7–25–(40) cm. long, with stiff, crowded branchlets c. 3 cm. long, the lowermost occ. rather distant. Spikes , ± sessile, red-brown, c. 4–5-fld, male fls at the top. Glumes > utricles, ovate-lanceolate, acute or lower glumes of spike awned, brownish-hyaline, faintly nerved, with a paler brown thickened midrib. Utricles 2.5–3.5 × 1–1.5 mm., unequally biconvex, elliptic-ovoid, smooth on curved face, very faintly nerved on flatter face, light yellow-brown, later dark brown, ± shining; beak c. 1 mm. long, shortly bifid, with green, winged, strongly scabrid margins; stipe c. 0.5 mm. long. Stigmas 2. Nut slightly < 2 mm. long, biconvex, narrow-obovoid, pale grey almost white.

DIST.: Ch., Ant.

Swampy places.