Flora of New Zealand Series

Perennials, in dense strict clumps > 1 m; branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath very light green to creamy brown, subcoriaceous or somewhat chartaceous, glabrous; margins sometimes short-ciliate below ligule. Ligule c. 0.3 mm. Collar hairs to 1 mm. Leaf-blade 15-45 cm × c. 1 mm diam., inrolled, or flat and 2-4 mm wide, abaxially glabrous, adaxially finely scabrid on ribs; margins finely scabrid, long-tapered to fine tip. Culm internodes glabrous. Panicle 14-30 cm, ± lax with obvious, ascending branches, lowest branches often very distant and up to 2 cm; rachis ± smooth, branches sparsely scabrid bearing spikelets in dense spike-like clusters. Spikelets 1.5-2.5 mm, leaden green. Glumes unequal, < lemma; lower 0.5-0.8 mm, nerveless, oblong-elliptic, obtuse, upper 0.8-1.5 mm, 1-nerved, ovate-elliptic, subacute. Lemma = spikelet, faintly 3-nerved, elliptic-lanceolate, subacute. Palea ≤ lemma, narrowly truncate. Stamens 2; anthers 0.4-0.7 mm, yellow. Caryopsis 0.7-1.2 × 0.5-0.7 mm, oblong-ellipsoid, truncate.

N.: Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty (near Te Kaha). Rough pasture and on roadside.

Naturalised from Australia.

Found also at Hamilton as a weed in a pot originally planted as Cyperus, J. R. Murray 25.3.1969 (CHR 284194).

A specimen of S. elongatus from Kuaotunu, Coromandel Peninsula G. Batten 18.3.1964 (CHR 146347) was misidentified as S. natalensis, in a checklist of naturalised chloridoid grasses [Edgar, E., Connor, H. E. and Shand, J. E. N.Z. J. Bot. 29: 117-129 (1991)].