Flora of New Zealand Series

heath grass

Densely tufted, dull green, rather stiff perennials, 12-50 cm; innovations extravaginal; cataphylls shining, cream. Leaf-sheath rounded to keeled above, usually with scattered long fine hairs or glabrous, strongly ribbed, light green or creamy brown, darker and fibrous at maturity; apical tufts of soft hairs to 2 mm. Ligule a short ring of hairs 0.3-0.7 mm, and often ± forming a contra-ligule. Leaf-blade 4-15-(30) cm × 1.5-3 mm, flat or involute, firm, with long soft hairs or glabrous, scabrid on nerves and on margins near curved boat-shaped tip. Culm 10-45 cm, erect or spreading, internodes smooth except a few prickle-teeth on angles below panicle. Panicle 2-6 cm, compact, with 3-9 spikelets on erect or somewhat pulvinately spreading finely scabrid branches, inflorescence sometimes a raceme. Spikelets 6-14 mm, 4-6-flowered, elliptic or oblong, plump, purplish or green, flowers ⚥. Glumes persistent, equal, ≤ spikelet, 3-5-nerved, ovate-lanceolate, firmly membranous with wide transparent margins, rounded below, keeled above and finely scabrid on midnerve, acute or obtuse. Lemma 5-8 mm, 7-9-nerved, elliptic, subcoriaceous, rounded and glabrous, but with a line of hairs at each margin from base to about midway, shortly 3-lobed above and finely scabrid there on margins and apex, awnless. Palea coriaceous, < lemma; keels and obtuse apex short-ciliate, keels thickened near base. Callus c. 0.2 mm, lateral thick tuft of hairs to 1.25 mm. Rachilla prolongation c. 0.5 mm. Lodicules 2, 1 mm, nerved, truncate, hair tipped, 0 in cleistogamous florets. Stamens 3, anthers 1.25 mm in chasmogamous flowers, 0.3-0.5 mm in cleistogamous flowers. Gynoecium: ovary 0.5-0.75 mm, glabrous; stigma-styles 1.5 mm, subterminal, sparsely branched. Caryopsis 2-2.5 × 0.8-1.4 mm; embryo c. 0.8 mm; hilum linear, almost 1 mm.

N.: scattered throughout except Gisborne and Hawkes Bay; S.: Westland, from Westport to Hokitika; Canterbury, one collection from Banks Peninsula. Waste ground, roadsides, tracks, poor pasture.

Naturalised from Europe.

Cleistogenes are sometimes developed in basal leaf-sheaths.

Sieglingia is sometimes included within Danthonia  sens. strict., see Clayton and Renvoize (1986 op. cit.).