Anthosachne Solandri
Description
Plants perennial, glaucous; cespitose or stoloniferous, lower nodes forming roots and shoots.Culms 40-100 cm prostrate, erect, or ascending; internodes glabrous.
Basal leaves: sheaths hairy when young, hairy or glabrous when older, becoming fibrous; auricles 1-1.5 mm, with hairs 1-1.5 mm; ligule to 0.5 mm, truncate; blade to 21 cm long, 2-4 mm wide. glaucous, flat, folded, or inrolled, abaxial surface ribbed, occasionally hairy, adaxial surface with dense tuft of long hairs at the base, hairs becoming less dense and shorter distally, ribs scabrous or shortly hairy.
Inflorescence 8-20 cm, with 3-15 spikelets; rachis with scabrous edges and glabrous surfaces; middle internodes 9-36 mm long.
Spikelets solitary, tangential, ascending to appressed, 25-80 mm, with 4-10 florets; rachilla shortly and stiffly hairy; disarticulation above the florets.
Glumes unequal, acute or shortly awned, lower glume 3-11 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, 3-veined, upper glume 5-12 mm long, 0.6-1 mm, 3-5-veined.
Callus about 0.75 mm long, hairs just reaching the lemma. Lemmas tapering into a recurved awn 35-75 mm long; . Palea 9.5-12 mm long, bifid. Anthers 3-5 mm long.
Distribution
NEW ZEALAN: Throughout both North and South Island
Ecology
Rocky cliffs on coast cliffs, tussock grasslands inland, and colonizing riverbeds, screes, and moraines. Sea level to 1500 m.
Cytology
2n = 42, presumably StWY
Formal citation of name
The combination for this species in Anthosache has not yet been published. It is in a manuscript that Barkworth and Jacobs will submit shortly.
Reference(s)
Edgar, E. and H.E. Connor. 2000. Flora of New Zealand, volume 5. Grasses. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln, New Zealand.