Flora of New Zealand Series

Type species: C. rigida (Raoul) Zotov

Perennial tussocks, solitary or occasionally sward forming; branching intravaginal or sometimes extravaginal. Leaf-sheath long persistent and clothing shoots, entire or fracturing into irregular segments, glabrous or with internerve hairs, tuft of hairs at apex. Ligule a ring of hairs usually c. 1 mm. Leaf-blade 5 cm to 1.5 m long, glaucous, flat to V-shaped, or junceous, persistent or disarticulating at ligule or falling with part of sheath, abaxially usually glabrous, occasionally hairy, adaxially prickle-toothed or papillate, rarely unornamented, margins usually long hairy below. Culm to 2 m, erect, exceeding leaves. Inflorescence an open or compact panicle of few to many spikelets, glabrous to conspicuously long hairy, usually with long hairs at branch axils. Spikelets of few to several ⚥ florets, disarticulating above glumes and between florets. Glumes unequal, linear, acute or rarely awned, usually glabrous; lower 1-3-nerved, upper 3-5-7-nerved. Lemma (7)-9-nerved, nerves anastomosing below sinus, lateral lobes awned or triangular-acute, densely hairy on margins and in columns in all, few, or no internerves; central awn straight or reflexed from twisting, flat or indistinct column from sinus. Palea > lemma sinus, keels ciliate, interkeel infrequently prickle-toothed, flanks long hairy below. Callus short, blunt, hairs long covering lemma; disarticulation oblique. Rachilla usually glabrous. Lodicules 2, irregularly rhomboidal and lobed, nerved, margins long hairy especially apically. Stamens 3; anthers caudate, shorter in male-sterile flowers. Gynoecium bistylar, ovary glabrous, < lodicules. Caryopsis free, obovate, smooth or rugose; embryo ⅓-½ caryopsis length; hilum linear, ½-⅔ caryopsis length. Fig. 16.

SYNOPSIS

• A.
• • Leaf-blade persistent on sheath
  • 1.
  • • Lemma scabrid with prickle-teeth
    • (a)
    • • Leaf-blade margin smooth
      • (i)
      • • Mat-forming; alpine:
        • 3. australis
      • (ii)
      • • Caespitose; coastal cliffs:
        • 4. beddiei, 5. bromoides
    • (b)
    • • Leaf-blade margin scabrid:
      • 6. cheesemanii, 11. flavicans
  • 2.
  • • Lemma lacking prickle-teeth
    • (a)
    • • Leaf-blade gramineous
      • (i)
      • • Sheath long, margin flat:
        • 14. macra, 17. pallens
      • (ii)
      • • Sheath short, margin undulating:
        • 15. oreophila
    • (b)
    • • Leaf-blade junceous:
      • 12. juncea, 19. rubra subsp. cuprea
• B.
• • Leaf-blade disarticulating at ligule
  • 1.
  • • Leaf-blade gramineous
    • (a)
    • • Leaf-blade margin glabrous
      • (i)
      • • Leaf-blade tip blunt:
        • 2. antarctica, 13. lanea
      • (ii)
      • • Leaf-blade tip pungent:
        • 16. ovata
    • (b)
    • • Leaf-blade margin hairy below
      • (i)
      • • Inflorescence hairy:
        • 7. conspicua, 8. crassiuscula
      • (ii)
      • • Inflorescence glabrous:
        • 17. pallens subsp. cadens, 22. vireta
  • 2.
  • • Leaf-blade junceous:
    • 1. acicularis, 21. teretifolia
• C.
• • Leaf-blade falling with part of sheath below ligule
  • 1.
  • • Leaf-blade gramineous:
    • 10. flavescens, 18. rigida
  • 2.
  • • Leaf-blade junceous
    • (a)
    • • Leaf-sheath strict:
      • 9. defracta, 19. rubra
    • (b)
    • • Leaf-sheath coiling up:
      • 20. spiralis

24 spp. of Australasia. Endemic spp. 22.

N.Z. spp. were revised by Connor, H. E. N.Z. J. Bot. 29: 219-283 (1991), and synoptically treated by Zotov, V. D. N.Z. J. Bot. 1: 78-136 (1963). They are collectively known as snow-tussock or snow-grass except for a few.