Flora of New Zealand Series

Gulf barnyard grass

Stout, summer annuals, to c. 100 cm, in bright green tufts with drooping panicles, stems either erect, or decumbent and rooting from lower nodes; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath bright purple, chartaceous, keeled above, glabrous. Ligule 0; ligular area often with scattered to more dense short hairs especially towards centre. Leaf-blade 10-35 cm × 6-11 mm, flat, linear, glabrous apart from a few occasional tubercle-based hairs on margins near ligular area, abaxially with distinct whitish midrib; margins whitish, ± thickened, obviously prickle-toothed, long-tapering to fine-acuminate tip. Culm (15)-50-80 cm, stout, internodes glabrous. Panicle (8)-12-20 cm, soft and drooping, narrow-pyramidal, with numerous flexuose racemes densely covered by spikelets for much of their length, florets usually awned; rachis 3-angled, finely scabrid. Racemes (2)-4-6.5 cm, spreading, clustered closely, especially above, often more distant below, bearing spikelets in clusters along rachis; pedicels scabrid, < 1 mm. Spikelets light green, sometimes purple-suffused, ovate-elliptic. Glumes quite unequal, submembranous, scabrid-pubescent, with stiff spinules on nerves, acute to acuminate, cuspidate or shortly awned; lower 1.3-1.8 mm, 3-5-nerved, broadly ovate, enwrapping base of spikelet, upper 3-4 mm, ovate-elliptic, 5-nerved. Lower floret: lemma similar to upper glume in size, texture and scabridity, 7-nerved, usually awned, awn 2.5-15 mm; palea ≈ lemma, elliptic, acute. Upper floret: lemma 2.5-3.5 mm, faintly 5-nerved, glabrous, shining, ovate-elliptic, thinly crustaceous, tapering to an almost membranous, faintly scabrid cusp; palea ≈ lemma; anthers 0.5-1 mm; caryopsis c. 1.5 × 1 mm, orbicular-oblong.

N.: Auckland City and environs, scattered elsewhere in North and South Auckland, and in Hawke's Bay (Hastings); S.: Canterbury (Christchurch and environs, Ashburton). Uncommon, always on disturbed ground; roadsides, waste land.

Naturalised from South America.

Habitat as for E. crus-galli and usually growing with it, but less plentiful.