Ehrharta calycina Sm.
Erect, tufted perennials, 50-80 cm, with rather soft culms. Leaf-sheath finely striate, smooth, or rarely densely short-pubescent between nerves, often purplish. Ligule 1.5-3 mm, abaxially minutely pubescent-scabrid, lacerate. Collar deep purple-tinged, hairs few to c. 1.5 mm. Leaf-blade 4-15-(20) cm × 2-6 mm, flat, rather stiff, abaxially finely scabrid towards acute tip, adaxially glabrous, except for scattered hairs above ligule and near the closely scabrid margins. Culm c. 30-60 cm, sometimes slightly geniculate at base, nodes deep purple, internodes glabrous. Inflor-escence a rather narrowly branched panicle, (7)-15-25 cm; branches and pedicels almost filiform, glabrous, often purplish. Spikelets 5-7 mm, pale green to whitish, sometimes purple-tinged. Glumes ± equal and ± enclosing spikelet, 4-6 mm, 5-7-nerved, firmly membranous, elliptic-oblong, subobtuse to subacute, glabrous. Lemmas of Ø florets dissimilar in size and shape, hinge-like appendage at base, subcoriaceous, with long, straight hairs, lateral nerves faint; lower Ø lemma 4-5 mm, > hairs, 3-5-nerved, narrow-linear, tip subobtuse to slightly mucronate, callus hairs few; upper Ø lemma 5-6 mm, = hairs, 5-7-nerved, elliptic-oblong, with 2 minute, hyaline, oval flaps beside basal appendages, upper keel ± thickened and short-ciliate, tipped by a ± strong mucro to 1 mm. Lemma of ⚥ floret 4-5 mm, 7-(9)-nerved, subcoriaceous, obtuse, awnless, glabrous to sparsely hairy. Palea hyaline, glabrous, except at base. Lodicules c. 1 mm, glabrous. Stamens 6; anthers 2.5-3.5 mm. Gynoecium: ovary 1.0 mm; stigma-styles 2 mm. Caryopsis c. 3 × 1 mm.
N.: Auckland (Waimauku), Manawatu (Bulls, Foxton, Waitarere Beach), Wairarapa (Porangahau). Stabilised sand dunes or sandy places.
Naturalised from South Africa.
