Flora of New Zealand Series

Annuals, 9-20 cm, with culms often much-branched near base, faintly coumarin-scented. Leaf-sheath submembranous, strongly ribbed, sometimes sparsely villous above. Collar hairs long, in small lateral tufts. Ligule 0.7-2 mm, glabrous, tapering, becoming erose. Leaf-blade 1-5.5 cm × 1-2.5 mm, thin, scabrid, sometimes sparsely hairy, tip narrow, subacute. Culm erect or spreading, branched, almost filiform, internodes glabrous. Panicle 1.5-2.4 × 0.5-1.2 cm, ovate- or lanceolate-oblong, rather lax or more dense, with few to numerous spikelets; rachis glabrous, branches and pedicels very short, scabrid or minutely hairy. Spikelets 5.5-7 mm, green or brownish green. Glumes glabrous, acute to acuminate, keels green, thickened, sparsely scabrid; lower ½-⅔ length of upper, 1-nerved, ovate, upper > florets and enclosing them, 3-nerved, elliptic-ovate. Ø florets: lemma 2.6-3.5 mm, 4-5-nerved, oblong, firmer and brown below with rather stiff silky hairs, apex glabrous, hyaline, bilobed, or entire and shortly toothed; awn of lower floret 3.6-4.6 mm, fine, ± straight, inserted above midpoint, awn of second floret 7-8.8 mm, stouter, geniculate, inserted near base, dark brown in lower ½, projecting beyond spikelet; palea 0 in both florets. ⚥ floret: lemma 1.5-1.8 mm, 5-nerved, firmly membranous, orbicular, brown, shining, glabrous; palea = lemma; anthers c. 3 mm; caryopsis 1.1-1.3 × 0.6-0.7 mm.

N.: Auckland City, Lake Taupo, Wellington City; S.: Canterbury (Paparua). Waste ground, uncommon.

Naturalised from southern Europe.