16. P. Kirkii, Buch. N.Z. Grasses, t. 51b.—Culms tufted, erect, compressed, smooth, leafy, 3–5-noded, 6–18 in. high. Leaves much shorter than the culms, erect, 1–4 in. long, 115–16 in. broad, linear, gradually tapering to an acuminate point, flat, smooth or the margins scabrid above, striate; sheaths compressed, grooved, the uppermost long, often sheathing the greater part of the culm; ligules long, membranous, erect. Panicle oblong or oblong-ovate, lax, erect, 2–5 in. long; rhachis slender, flexuous, smooth or minutely scaberulous; branches in alternate pairs or in alternate fascicles of 3–5, unequal, slender, sparingly divided, smooth or scaberulous. Spikelets elliptic-oblong, compressed, green or purplish-green, ⅙–¼ in. long, 3–5-flowered. Two outer glumes unequal, ½–⅔ the length of the whole spikelet, oblong-lanceolate, acute, 3-nerved, smooth or scabrid along the keel. Flowering glumes oblong-ovate, obtuse, prominently 5-nerved, smootb or minutely scabrid on the keel and nerves above, glabrous or rarely with a tuft of crisped hairs on the callus. Palea about ¼ shorter than the glume, linear-oblong, ciliate on the keels. Anthers linear-oblong, 120 in. long.—P. purpurea, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. (1877) 500 (name only).
Var. Mackayi, Hack. MSS.—Taller and stouter; leaves often ¼ in. broad. Spikelets larger, ⅓ in. long. Flowering glumes often with a tuft of long crisped hairs on the callus. Anthers 115 in. long.—P. Mackayi, Buch. N.Z. Grasses, t. 50a.
Var. Collinsii, Hack. MSS.—Slender, pale-green, laxly tufted, 1–2 ft. high; nodes of the culm usually naked. Panicle 3–6 in. long, very lax; branches long, slender. Spikelets as in the type, but rather larger.—P. Collinsii, Kirk ex Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxviii. (1896) 589 (name only).
North Island: Mount Egmont, Petrie! T.F.C.; Tararua Range, H. H. Travers! T. P. Arnold! South Island: Abundant in subalpine localities throughout. Var. Collinsii: Mount Fyffe (Marlborough), Kirk! Hooker Valley, T.F.C. 2000–5000 ft.
A variable plant. Buchanan's P. Mackayi looks different at first sight, from its larger spikelets and broader leaves, but is connected with the type by intermediate forms. On the Mount Arthur Plateau, Nelson, the two varieties can be seen to merge into one another. P. Collinsii is a taller and more slender plant, with a larger and laxer panicle, but the structure of the spikelets is the same as in the type. P. Kirkii is a valuable grass for all kinds of stock in cool elevated localities, and is well worth cultivation.
17. P. Lindsayi, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 340.—Culms numerous, densely tufted, very slender, erect, quite smooth, leafy at the base, naked above, 3–12 in. high. Leaves much shorter than the culms, ½–3 in. long, very narrow, flat or involute, soft and flaccid, quite smooth, pale-green or bluish-green; sheaths short or the upper alone long, narrow, grooved; ligules oblong, membranous, hyaline. Panicle broadly ovate or oblong, erect, lax, 1–4 in. long; rhachis slender, smooth; branches rather distant, binate or ternate, spreading, very slender, capillary, smooth or scaberulous, simple or sparingly divided, bearing a few spikelets towards the tip. Spike-
