Austrofestuca pubinervis (Vickery) B.K.Simon, Austrobaileya 2: 241 (1986).

Festuca pubinervis Vickery, Contr. New South Wales Natl Herb. 1: 7 (1939). T: south-west Australia, W.A., Drummond 150, holo: K.
Festuca triticoides Steud., Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 315 (1854), nom. illeg. non Lam. (1791); Schedonorus littoralis var. triticoides Benth. Fl. Austral. 7: 656 (1878); Austrofestuca triticoides (Steud.) E.B.Alexeev, Novosti Sist. Vyssch. Rast. 24: 15 (1987) (based on Arundo triticoides Trin., but this name has not been found, Maybe on Arundo triodioides Trin. ???). T: hrbr. Drummond Coll. V. nr. 150 N. Holl.

Vegetative form. Perennial, yellowish-green, rhizomatous and caespitose (with a vertical rhizome bearing long, sheathing scale-leaves). Leaves mostly basal. Culms 41-53 cm high, unbranched above, 2-3 noded. Mid-culm nodes glabrous, exposed or hidden by the leaf sheaths, pigmented (brown), slightly constricted. Mid-culm internodes hollow, glabrous, terete. Young shoots intravaginal. Leaves non-auriculate. Basal leaf sheaths not keeled, terete, rarely the sheath of the flag leaf somewhat inflated and, the lower sheaths becoming rather loose from the culms, glabrous, the same colour as the lamina or purple (occasionally at the base of the basal sheaths), ribbed, with the veins equally striate, with margins free, chartaceous, smooth. Ligule of culm leaves up to 7.7 mm long, lobed (in basal leaves, the lobes asymmetrical (i.e. unequal in length), with a low midpoint,), and in the basal leaves 0.85-2.1 mm long, thick, chartaceous, ciliolate, c. obtuse, entire. Collar glabrous. Leaf blades involute, acicular, often longer than the culm, 220-455 mm long, 1.1-1.7 mm wide, stiff; adaxially puberulous (densely), channelled; abaxially glabrous, smooth with the veins equally striate; with margins smooth, apices acuminose. Prophyll 30-135 mm long, the keels minutely scabrous.

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

Inflorescence. Inflorescence a panicle, yellowish to pallid, erect, contracted, 18-30 mm wide, oblong or elliptic, symmetrical, partially exserted or fully exserted. Main inflorescence axis 155-330 mm long. Peduncles 55-170 mm long, glabrous, smooth. Rachides 80-160 mm long, terete, glabrous. Primary inflorescence branches usually densely pubescent; solitary, usually branching at the base, spreading, spiral, without spikelets inserted at the base. Spikelets 3 on a typical ultimate inflorescence branch, spiral, on second order branches or on third order branches, erect, spreading.

Hermaphrodite (`perfect') spikelets. Hermaphrodite spikelets pedicellate, 10.2-17 mm long, laterally compressed, c. elliptic, not disarticulating as a separate unit, disarticulating above the glumes. Pedicels 1.7-8.5 mm long, erect, thick, occasionally glabrous or pubescent (densely), straight. Glumes two per spikelet, similar, equal in length to subequal, slightly shorter than the proximal lemma to equalling the proximal lemma. Lower glume asymmetrical about the midvein near the apex, (dorsally) narrowly elliptic, 11.9-13.6 mm long, 1.7-2.5 mm wide, membranous to chartaceous, keeled (in the upper part), without a keel-wing, acute, entire, muticous, margin smooth or margin ciliolate (in the upper half); 5 veined, veins prominent, midvein scaberulous (particularly near the apex); intercostal regions glabrous. Upper glume narrowly elliptic, 12.8-14 mm long, 1.8-2.5 mm wide, membranous to chartaceous, keeled (in the upper part), acute, entire, muticous, margin smooth or margin ciliolate; 5 veined, veins prominent, midvein scaberulous or midvein puberulous (at the apex only); intercostal regions papillose to intercostal regions scabrous (minutely). Rudimentary florets distal to the hermaphrodite florets. Incomplete florets absent. Hermaphrodite florets 3 per spikelet or 4 per spikelet. Rachilla disarticulating between the florets, disarticulating directly below the florets, straight, segments 1.7-2.1 mm long, on the surface away from the subtending lemma densely villous, elongated between all florets, apically prolonged; prolongation 2.1-2.9 mm long, terminated by a rudimentary floret (a very reduced structure). Callus present, blunt, 0.3 mm long, villous, hairs c. 1 mm long. Lemma similar in firmness to the glumes, narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, 8.5-12.8(-14.5) mm long, 2.1-2.5 mm wide, coriaceous, keeled (throughout), acute or obtuse, entire or bidentate, muticous. Lemma margins smooth or ciliolate (at the apex). Lemma 5-8 veined. Lemma veins confluent towards the apex, prominent, near the base densely villous, and minutely scabrous above, with the hairs on all the veins, with the hairs extending the length of the veins; intercostal regions in the upper 3/4s minutely scabrous. Palea fully developed, c. equalling the lemmas, similar in texture to the lemmas, tightly clasped by the lemmas, markedly furrowed, narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, 10.2-12.5 mm long, 1.9-2.1 mm wide, coriaceous to chartaceous, 2-keeled, keels wingless, obtuse to truncate, entire or apically notched, margin smooth or margin ciliolate; 2 veined, veins puberulous (densely); intercostal regions scabrous to intercostal regions puberulous. Lodicules 2, free, with a dorsal wing of tissue, hyaline, acute, sparsely ciliolate (at the apex), toothed or with entire margins, with margin divisions lateral or with margin divisions terminal, glabrous or ciliate, the hairs isolated. Stamens 3. Anthers 4.25-6.4 mm long, basally 2-lobed. Ovary glabrous. Styles 2, apical, free to their bases.

Fruit. Fruit free from both lemma and palea, ventrally compressed, 3.6 mm long, 1.3-1.7 mm wide, ventrally longitudinally grooved, glabrous. Hilum 1 mm long, elliptic. Embryo 0.6 mm long, not waisted; endosperm hard.

Distribution. Endemic. Western Australia.

Ecology. Distribution by vegetation region: coastal grasslands (dunes). In open habitats; maritime-arenicolous.

Vouchers. Specimens examined morphologically: W.A.: Swan R., Drummond 450 (MEL). S.A.: SW of Mt Greenly, 10 km WNW of Coulta, P.C.Heyligers 79119 (AD, CANB). Vic.: Shallow Inlet at Sandy Point, c. 22 km SSW from Foster, Sth Gippsland, Oct. 1989, S.Cummins (MEL). Nova Hollandia, Sieber (MEL 223980).

Classification. Pooideae; Poodae; Poeae.

Species supposedly restricted to W.A., but doubtfully distinct from A. littoralis. The characters used to distinguish the two species are variable, particularly the pubescence of the lemma and callus. Specimens of A. littoralis from S.A., Vic., and Tas. are variable in the type and density of hairs on the lemma and callus, some with the dense villous hairs supposedly typical of A. pubinervis.

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