Flora of New Zealand Series

veld grass

Loosely tufted, soft-leaved, sometimes sprawling perennials (20)-30-80-(140) cm, with rather weak culms sometimes rooting at lower nodes. Leaf-sheath finely striate, glabrous or shortly hairy. Ligule 1-4 mm, glabrous, lacerate. Collar hairs 1-2.0 mm. Leaf-blades 6-16 cm × 2-7.5-(12) mm, flat, rather thin, short, fine sometimes scattered hairs especially near margin, finely nerved but midrib obvious abaxially, margins finely scabrid or hairy, tip acute. Culms (15)-20-70 cm, usually ± procumbent at base and geniculate-ascending above, or erect, internodes glabrous. Inflorescence usually a rather narrowly branched panicle (5)-10-16 cm; branches and pedicels slender, smooth to finely pubescent-scabrid, pedicels finely hairy. Spikelets 3-4 mm, very pale green. Glumes < lemmas, unequal, membranous, ovate, subobtuse, smooth, tip minutely ciliate; lower 1.5-2 mm, 3-5-nerved, upper 2.2-2.7 mm, 5-nerved. Lemmas of Ø florets (2.5)-3-3.5 mm, coriaceous, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, awnless, faintly 5-nerved, glabrous; lower Ø lemma < upper, usually smooth rarely transversely rugose near tip, shining; upper Ø lemma transversely rugose above and with a thick basal hinge-like appendage. Lemma of ⚥ floret 2.5-3.2 mm, faintly 7-nerved, subcoriaceous, ovate, obtuse, awnless, glabrous. Palea 2.5 mm, hyaline, glabrous, 2-nerved. Lodicules 0.5-0.7 mm, nerved, glabrous. Stamens 6; anthers 0.7-1.2 mm. Gynoecium: ovary 0.5 mm; stigma-styles 1.5 mm. Caryopsis 2-2.7 × c. 1 mm.

N.: throughout Auckland Province, Taranaki (Moturoa Id, Hawera), Wellington Province; S.: Nelson (Abel Tasman National Park), Canterbury (Akaroa, Christchurch, Ashburton). Stabilised sand dunes, and waste places, or ruderal.

Naturalised from South Africa.

In the last 10-15 years E. erecta has spread rapidly, especially in the Palmerston North and Wellington areas, where it has become abundant.