Flora of New Zealand Series

; Holotype: CHR 389142! A. P. Druce Mt Baldy, Mt Arthur Range, NW Nelson, 4700 ft, tussockland, March 1982.

Elegant tufted slender or ± stout extravaginally branching grass rooting at nodes with tall inflorescences of deflexed branches of spikelets borne high above fine glaucous leaf-blades. Prophyll 3-6 cm, keels predominantly antrorsely ciliate. Branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath 3-7-12 cm, keeled, red, purple or stramineous, glabrous or with short fine prickles sparse on ribs, margins membranous, glabrous; apical auricles 0.4-0.7 mm, rounded or truncate, symmetrical, ciliate. Ligule shorter centrally, erose, ciliate. Collar triangular, thickened. Leaf-blade 15-25 cm × 0.4-0.7 mm diam., hexagonal in outline and ribs evident or rounded, glaucous, usually persistent, abaxially smooth but occasionally prickle-toothed below and very occasionally with retrorse hairs, abaxially and on margins a multitude of short antrose hairs at base becoming fewer above; TS: 5 vascular bundles, 7 sclerenchyma strands. Culm (15)-30-65 cm, erect, much exceeding leaf-blades, internodes glabrous, nodes evident. Panicle 7-16 cm, with 4-10 nodes, 7-25 spikelets; branches widely spaced, pulvinate and spreading to deflexed, basal branch solitary or binate 5-8 cm with 4-8 spikelets, naked below, uppermost 3-9 spikelets solitary on 4-6 mm pedicels; rachis smooth below becoming prickle-toothed on edges, branches and pedicels prickle-toothed. Spikelets 8-14 mm × 3-4 mm wide, of 5-7 florets, ripening golden-brown, often very distant. Glumes unequal, keeled or faintly so, prickle-toothed on keel above, margins ciliate, apex truncate and sometimes shallowly cleft or obtuse; usually green or light purple centrally, lighter or hyaline at thin margins; lower 3-4.5 mm, 1-nerved, upper 3.5-6.5 mm, usually 3-nerved often conspicuous. Lemma 5-6.75 mm, lobes 0 or minute, lightly purpled, nerves evident, slightly keeled above, prickle-toothed from outermost nerve to very shortly ciliate chartaceous margin and near awn; awn 0.2-1.75 mm, sparsely prickle-toothed. Palea 5.5-7.5 mm, ≥ lemma, apex deeply (0.2-0.5 mm) bifid, keels toothed sometimes to base, interkeel hairs in upper ⅓, margins of flanks very shortly toothed. Callus 0.2-0.75 mm, bearded near rachilla; articulation ± flat. Rachilla 1-1.5 mm, short stiff hairy. Lodicules 0.7-1.1 mm, lobed or entire, hair-tipped. Anthers (2)-3-4.0 mm, yellow or purple tinged. Gynoecium: ovary 0.6-1 mm, hispid hairs at apex; stigma-styles 1.5-2.5 mm, stigmas almost to base. Caryopsis 3-3.5 mm; embryo 0.75 mm; hilum 2 mm.

S.: north-west Nelson. Predominantly in tussock grasslands but also on bluffs or in rocky places, often marble or calcareous; 600-1650 m.

Endemic.

Plants may be graceful, slender, and very finely leaved with inflorescences of deflexed branches borne high above them as in: CHR 249981 A. P. Druce Mt Luna, Jan 1971; CHR 197064 A. P. Druce Gouland Downs, Jan 1969. Stouter forms with longer leaves are represented by CHR 325755 A. P. Druce Burgoo Stream, Jan 1970. Inflorescences with few spikelets show very strikingly the pulvinately deflexed branching emphasised in the description but some inflorescences have less divergent branches, e.g., CHR 95718 R. Mason & N. T. Moar 4671 Lake Sylvester, Feb 1957; CHR 202773 I. M. Ritchie Mt Arthur, Jan 1970; CHR 393736 A. P. Druce Owen Range, Jan 1983.