Agrostis muelleriana Vickery, Contr. New South Wales Natl Herb. 1: 103 (1941).

A. gelida F.Muell., Trans. & Proc. Victorian Inst. Advancem. Sci. 43 (1855), non Trin., (1845); A. canina var. gelida (F.Muell.) Buchanan, Indig. Grasses N. Zeal. pl. 20 (1880). 2T: Cobberas Mountains, 6000 ft, F.Mueller; T; NSW
A. canina var. B. Hook.f., Handb. New Zeal. Fl. 328 (1864).
A. muelleri Benth., Fl. Austral. 7: 576 (1878) non Presl. ?? J. or C.?? (1844)

Illustrated in: Ag. Gaz. N.S.W. 10: 1164 (1899) as A. muelleri Benth. (awned form).

Vegetative form. Annual, caespitose. Leaves mostly basal. Culms to 25 cm high, slender, 3 noded. Mid-culm nodes glabrous, often exposed. Leaves non-auriculate. Basal leaf sheaths not keeled, terete, glabrous or scabrous (hairs sparse), with the veins equally striate, hyaline. Ligule 2-3 mm long, membranous, acute or truncate, erose. Leaf blades flat or folded or involute, linear or filiform, 30-100 mm long, 1-5 mm wide; adaxially scabrous; with margins scabrous; convolute in bud.

Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual. Incomplete spikelets absent. Inflorescence of chasmogamous spikelets.

Inflorescence. Inflorescence a panicle, pallid or green or purple, contracted, symmetrical, partially exserted or fully exserted. Rachides 20-60 mm long. Primary inflorescence branches scabrous, short, appressed (divided from within 1 cm from their base).

Hermaphrodite (`perfect') spikelets. Hermaphrodite spikelets pedicellate, 2.2-3.5 mm long, slightly laterally compressed, not disarticulating as a separate unit, disarticulating above the glumes. Pedicels slender. Glumes two per spikelet, similar, subequal, exceeding the florets, longer than the proximal lemma. Lower glume longer than the upper glume, membranous, keeled, acute, muticous; 1 veined, midvein scabrous (on the upper 2/3s). Upper glume membranous, keeled, acute, muticous; 1 veined, midvein scabrous (only at the apex). Rudimentary florets absent. Incomplete florets absent. Hermaphrodite florets 1 per spikelet. Rachilla not apically prolonged. Callus present, blunt, shortly and sparsely bearded. Lemma less firm than the glumes, laterally compressed, ovate, 1.3-2(-3) mm long, hyaline, not keeled, truncate, entire or dentate; muticous or awned. Lemma 5 veined. Lemma veins obscure, glabrous; intercostal regions glabrous. Awns 1, median. Median awn shorter than the body of the lemmas to about as long as the body of the lemmas, 1 veined, dorsal, arising from the mid-point of the lemma (or above), straight. Palea vestigial, minute, to 0.5 mm long, hyaline. Lodicules 2, hyaline, ovate. Stamens 3. Anthers 0.5-0.8 mm long. Ovary glabrous. Styles 2, free to their bases.

Fruit. Fruit elliptical, c. 1.3 mm long, longitudinally grooved.

Common name. Mueller's Bent.

Distribution. Endemic. Tasmania, New South Wales, and Victoria. World distribution: New Zealand.

Ecology. Mesophytic. In alpine and subalpine herbfields and sod tussock grassland, fens and bogs. Flowers summer.

Classification. Pooideae; Poodae; Aveneae.

References. Morphology: Jacobs & Hastings; Morris 76 (1991); Vickery 103-104 (1941).

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.

References and Acknowledgements