Agrostis aff.
australiensis
Agrostis aff.
australiensis
Vegetative form. Perennial, caespitose. Culms to 35 cm high. Mid-culm nodes glabrous. Mid-culm internodes glabrous. Leaves non-auriculate. Basal leaf sheaths not keeled, terete, with the veins equally striate. Ligule 1-3 mm long, membranous, truncate, entire or erose. Leaf blades flat or involute, to 120 mm long, to 2 mm wide; adaxially glabrous to adaxially scabrous; abaxially glabrous to abaxially scabrous; with margins scabrous; convolute in bud.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual. Incomplete spikelets absent. Inflorescence of chasmogamous spikelets.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence a panicle (few flowered), green to purple, open, symmetrical, fully exserted. Peduncles scabrous. Rachides to 100 mm long. Primary inflorescence branches paired (?), stiffly spreading (bare in the proximal half, the spikelets at the tips of the secondary branches). Spikelets on second order branches (?).
Hermaphrodite (`perfect') spikelets. Hermaphrodite spikelets pedicellate, laterally compressed, not disarticulating as a separate unit, disarticulating above the glumes. Pedicels slender. Glumes two per spikelet, similar, subequal to unequal in length, shorter than the florets to exceeding the florets, slightly shorter than the proximal lemma to longer than the proximal lemma. Lower glume 2-3 mm long, membranous, keeled, acute, muticous; 1 veined, midvein scabrous. Upper glume 1.75-2.75 mm long, membranous, keeled, acute, muticous; 1 veined, midvein scabrous. Rudimentary florets absent. Incomplete florets absent. Hermaphrodite florets 1 per spikelet. Callus present, blunt, minutely bearded. Lemma less firm than the glumes, laterally compressed, ovate, 2-2.5 mm long, not keeled, truncate; muticous (?). Lemma 5 veined. Lemma veins obscure (and occasionally purplish and obvious). Palea vestigial, minute, hyaline. Lodicules 2, hyaline, ovate. Stamens 3. Anthers 0.6-1.6 mm long. Ovary glabrous. Styles 2, free to their bases.
Fruit. Fruit 1.25 mm long, glabrous.
Distribution. Endemic. Tasmania.
Ecology. Mesophytic; in open habitats. At the edges of lakes, marshes or streams.
Classification. Pooideae; Poodae; Aveneae.
References. Morphology: Morris 77 (1991).
Cite this publication as:
C.M. Weiller, M.J.
Henwood, J. Lenz and L. Watson (1995 onwards). `Pooideae (Poaceae) in
Australia - Descriptions and Illustrations'. URL
http://muse.bio.cornell.edu/delta/
Dallwitz
(1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993)
should also be cited.