Flora of New Zealand Series

Loosely tufted, rather flaccid; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath submembranous, closed, keeled, striate, glabrous, often purplish, scattered cross-veinlets inconspicuous. Ligule 3.5-7 mm, hyaline, tapered to a point. Leaf-blade (4)-8-17 cm × 2.5-7 mm, folded at first, becoming flat, abaxially minutely papillose, striate, minutely scabrid on midrib and lateral ribs, adaxially glabrous, channelled on either side of midrib; margins scabrid, abruptly narrowed to stiff point. Culm (15)-25-45 cm, erect or ascending from curved, bent, or prostrate base, internodes glabrous. Panicle 20-30-(40) cm, narrow, with few spikelets, spiciform, ± secund, with 1-3 branches at lower panicle-nodes; rachis smooth, branches with a few minute prickle-teeth below spikelets. Spikelets 15-25-(30) mm, 8-14-flowered, narrowly oblong, greyish green or purplish. Glumes noticeably unequal, 1-nerved, hyaline, ovate-oblong, obtuse; lower 1.5-2.5 mm, upper 2.5-3.5 mm. Lemma 4-5.5 mm, 7-nerved, ovate- or elliptic-oblong, 3-lobed or 3-5-toothed, minutely papillose to short-scabrid, green and firm, nerves purple tipped extending into wide hyaline upper margin. Palea oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, deeply bifid into often purplish, aristate teeth, usually projecting slightly beyond lemma apex, keels narrowly winged, very minutely scabrid. Rachilla c. 1.5 mm, glabrous. Anthers (0.9)-1-1.4 mm. Caryopsis (1.7)-2-2.5 × 0.8-1 mm. Fig. 8.

N.; S.: throughout; St.; Ch. In damp ground in swamps, on stream margins, along drains and in damp pasture; lowland to montane.

Naturalised from Europe.

Early collections in N.Z. were not distinguished from G. fluitans.

Fig. 8 Glyceria declinata S, spikelet, × 10; G 1, G 2, glumes, × 16; L, lemma lateral and dorsal view, × 16; P, palea dorsal view, × 16; Lo, lodicule dorsal and lateral view, × 32; O, ovary, styles and stigmas, × 32; St, stamens, × 32. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X7Z]