Flora of New Zealand Series

summer grass

Sprawling annual tufts, rooting at nodes to form loose mats. Leaf-sheath folded, striate, stiff, light green with numerous, spreading to retrorse, fine tubercle-based hairs. Ligule 1-2 mm, membranous, glabrous, truncate to rounded, erose. Leaf-blade 3-6 cm × (3)-3.5-5-(6) mm, soft, linear, usually with scattered to dense fine hairs, ribs usually scabrid especially above, sometimes smooth; margins scabrid, narrowed rather abruptly to acute tip. Culm (15)-20-40 cm, erect to decumbent, internodes glabrous. Racemes 2-9, (3)-6-8.5-(11.5) cm, slender, closely digitate to approximate, spreading; rachis 3-angled, winged, 0.4-0.8 mm wide, scabrid on angles and often near base; pedicels scabrid on angles with longer prickle-teeth. Spikelets 2.5-3 mm, in pairs, lanceolate, acute, light green or purplish, laterally hairy, hairs fine, acute-tipped. Lower glume (0.2)-0.3-0.5 mm, triangular, acute to obtuse, nerveless, glabrous, upper 1.5-2.2 mm, c. ⅔ length of spikelet, 3-nerved, margins long-hairy. Lower floret: lemma = spikelet, 3-5-nerved, nerves glabrous, outer internerves long-hairy. Upper floret: lemma ≈ spikelet, acute, yellowish or purplish; palea ≈ lemma, acute; anthers 0.8-1.3 mm, purple; stigmas purple; caryopsis c. 1.5-2 mm, oblong.

N.: scattered localities; S.: one early record; K.: Raoul Id. Common to very common in waste and open places.

Naturalised from tropical and subtropical Asia.

One specimen from South Id CHR 5144, was collected by J. B. Armstrong from "Near ChCh - common" late in the 19th Century.

Sykes, W. R. N.Z. DSIR Bull. 219: 166 (1977), discussed early records of D. sanguinalis (as Panicum sanguinale) from Kermadec Is and concluded that most of these were based on D. setigera, and that D. ciliaris was later introduced to Kermadec Is.

Pantropical; formerly known as D. adscendens Kunth, a later synonym.