N.Z. Grasses, 6. Agrostis pilosa, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 134, t. 23; Raoul, Choix, 39; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 297; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 329; Buch. N.Z. Grasses, t. 22.
North and South Islands: Damp subalpine localities, not uncommon. Hardly more than a luxuriant state of the type.
Var. semiglabra, Hack. MS.—Flowering glume glabrous on the back, its callus sparingly pilose. Otherwise as in the type.
North and South Islands: Not uncommon.
Var. humilior, Hack. MS.—Root often perennial. Culms 3–10 in. high. Panicle very broad and spreading; branches few, distant, binate, few-flowered. —A. striata, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxi. (1889) 107.
North and South Islands: Probably not uncommon in mountain districts, Lake Waikaremoana, Hill! Clarence Valley, Lake Tennyson, Broken River, Tasman Valley, &c., T.F.C.; Lake Te Anau, Petrie!
Var. littoralis, Hack. MS.—Root annual. Culms 2–9 in., often forming a compact sward. Panicle rather narrow, contracted, many-flowered. Empty glumes linear-lanceolate, narrower than in the type.
Kermadec Islands, North and South Islands: Rocky or gravelly places near the sea, not uncommon.
Var. Lyallii, Hack. MS.—Culms 6–12 in. Leaves narrow, involute. Panicle lax; branches few, binate or ternate. Spikelets larger, ⅛–⅙ in. long. Flowering glume densely clothed with silky hairs.—A. Lyallii, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 297.
South Island: Near Westport, Townson! Okarito, A. Hamilton! Jackson's Bay, Kirk! Milford Sound, Lyall, Kirk! Catlin's River, Petrie! Auckland Islands: Kirk!
Var. micrathera, Hack. MS.—Habit of var. Lyallii, but larger and leaves broader. Spikelets still larger, ⅕–¼ in. long. Empty glumes linear-lanceolate, acuminate. Flowering glume short, ½ as long as the empty glumes, very thin, sparingly silky; awn from above the middle, short, delicate, hardly exserted beyond the empty glumes.
Antipodes Island, Campbell Island: Kirk! Possibly the same as Agrostis lentostachya, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 94, but I have not seen an authenticated specimen, and it is described as having no palea and a long awn.
D. Forsteri is one of the most generally diffused plants in New Zealand, and is certainly one of the most variable. In attempting to characterize its chief forms, I have mainly followed the grouping suggested to me by Professor Hackel, who has kindly examined sets of all the varieties contained in my herbarium. The species is as plentiful in Australia and Tasmania as in New Zealand.
2. D. Billardieri, Kunth, Rev. Gram. i. 77.—Culms tufted, usually rather stout, erect or decumbent at the base, 9–18 in. high, leafy throughout. Leaves shorter than the culms, ¼–½ in. broad, flat, striate, usually scabrid on the margins and veins; sheaths rather narrow, rough, the uppermost very long, usually enclosing the culm up to the base of the panicle; ligules long, membranous, lacerate. Panicle 4–12 in. long, very broad and lax, often as broad as long when fully expanded; branches numerous, in regular whorls, long, capillary, scabrid, trichotomously divided; pedicels thickened
