Vulpia bromoides (L.) Gray
vulpia hair grass
Annual, slender, rather stiff tufts or solitary shoots, 3-60-(80) cm, with panicles usually conspicuously exserted above uppermost leaf-sheath. Leaf-sheath hyaline, glabrous, green to purplish, lower sheaths darker brown with paler ribs. Ligule 0.2-0.5 mm, a membranous, truncate rim. Leaf-blade (1.5)-3-10 cm × 0.8-1.5 mm, flat or involute, abaxially glabrous, adaxially short-ciliate on ribs; margins and acute tip scabrid. Culm 3-40 cm, erect or decumbent at base, internodes glabrous, or sparsely to more densely hairy. Panicle 1.5-12-(17) cm, secund, erect or slightly nodding, lanceolate to narrow-oblong, often rather lax below and with upper branches erect-appressed, sometimes reduced to a single spikelet; rachis, branches and stiff pedicels scabrid on angles. Spikelets (8)-10-20-(25) mm, 5-7-flowered, uppermost 1-2-(3) florets Ø, cuneate or oblong; flowering usually cleistogamous. Glumes very unequal with broad green nerves and hyaline margin, acute to apiculate; lower 2.5-4.2 mm, ½-¾ length of upper, 1-nerved, subulate, smooth, upper 4.7-7.8 mm, 3-nerved, oblong-lanceolate, midnerve scabrid near tip. Lemma 5.5-7.5-(10.5) mm, 5-nerved, firmly membranous, rounded, elliptic-lanceolate, scabrid; awn 4.5-11 mm, fine, minutely scabrid. Palea keels scabrid, interkeel scabrid near apex. Callus glabrous. Rachilla glabrous. Anthers usually 1, rarely 2, (0.2)-0.4-0.6 mm, or 0.8-1.5 mm. Caryopsis (2)-3-4.2 × 0.5 mm.
N.; S.: throughout; St.; K., Three Kings Is, Ch., C., M. Waste land and disturbed ground, stony river beds and dry depleted grassland; sea level to subalpine.
Naturalised from Eurasia.
A weed of temperate regions in both Hemispheres.
The record for Macquarie Id is based on ANU 11748 R. Hnatiuk Macquarie Island, Met. Station, 16.1.1972 (duplicate CHR 276460). This record was not included in the account of the grasses of Macquarie Id by Edgar. E., in George, A. S. et al. (Eds) Fl. Australia 50: 461-470 (1993).
A slender form from the Bay of Islands was described by J. D. Hooker [Fl. N.Z. 1: 309 (1853)] as Festuca bromoides var. tenella Hook.f. No specimens were found at K.
