Flora of New Zealand Series

; Holotype: CHR 370822! H. E. Connor hillsides above Roxburgh town, Central Otago, 10 February 1947.

Erect glaucous tussock from a narrow base, with intravaginal branching though sometimes rhizomatous; spikelets widely divergent from rachis, and anthesis occurring after complete spike emergence reveals long purple anthers. Leaf-sheath 7-10 cm, keeled, striate, becoming fibrous, glabrous or occasionally sparsely hairy or pubescent mixed with hairs 1 mm; margins chartaceous. Ligule 0.3-0.5 mm, ciliate. Collar thickened short stiff hairy, occasionally glabrous, margin hairs 1-1.5 mm. Auricles 0.3-0.5 mm, clasping, or absent, long (1-2 mm) hairs occasional. Leaf-blade 20-30 cm × 2-4 mm, glaucous, flat, ribbed, sometimes involute, abaxially glabrous, occasionally with hairs to 1 mm, adaxially densely hairy at base; margin prickle-toothed or becoming so, occasionally with hairs to 1 mm below. Culm 50-100 cm, erect, nodes conspicuous black to red brown, internodes glabrous. Inflorescence 18-25 cm, stiff, of 3-7 widely divergent spikelets; margin sparsely antrorsely toothed or short hairy. Spikelets 30-50 mm, of 6-12 florets occasionally more. Glumes ± equal, 5-10 mm, 3-nerved, acute or becoming shortly awned, margin chartaceous and ciliate. Lemma 10-14 mm, glabrous except for prickle-teeth above and on margin below, keeled above, apex occasionally bifid, awn 22-45 mm, ± recurved or straight. Palea 6-13 mm, apex bifid. Rachilla 2-3 mm, short stiff hairy. Callus 0.75 mm, incompletely and shortly bearded. Lodicules 1-2.5 mm. Anthers 4-9 mm, usually purple often yellow. Gynoecium: ovary 2 mm; stigma-styles 2-3 mm. Caryopsis 7-10 mm; embryo 1.6-2 mm. 2 n = 42.

S: inland basins of Central Otago. Open dry short-tussock grassland; 150-500 m.

Endemic.