Flora of New Zealand Series

; Holotype: CHR 187790! I. M. Ritchie Craigieburn Range, head of Craigieburn [Valley], tussock grassland among Chionochloa pallens and C. flavescens, c. 4500 ft, 19.2.1968.

Loose, green to purple-green perennial tufts, to 60 cm, culms usually only slightly overtopping leaves at flowering, later elongating; branching extravaginal; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath light green, often slightly purplish, later greyish, shining, submembranous, glabrous, keeled, distinctly ribbed, occasionally scabrid just below ligule especially on keel. Ligule 0.5-1.5-(2.5) mm, evenly narrowed to a short point, strongly finely ciliate, abaxially minutely hairy. Leaf-blade 7-15.5 cm × 2-3.5 mm, flat or folded, subcoriaceous, abaxially glabrous except near curved, shortly apiculate scabrid tip, adaxially minutely scabrid; margins finely scabrid, with a few hairs just above ligule. Culm 15-45 cm, erect, internodes glabrous below panicle. Panicle 6.5-18 cm; branches slender, spreading, minutely scabrid, tipped by 2-4 large spikelets. Spikelets 6.5-9.5 mm, 3-5-flowered, usually purplish. Glumes ± equal, c. 4-5 mm, 3-nerved, elliptic- to ovate-lanceolate, subobtuse, midrib scabrid, tip minutely ciliate. Lemma 4.5-5 mm, 5-nerved, ± oblong, obtuse, minutely scabrid on nerves and internerves especially in lower ½, rarely with a few sparse short hairs near base of keel, tip minutely scabrid. Palea 4.5-5 mm, keels ciliate-scabrid, interkeel and flanks with minute hairs and prickle-teeth. Callus glabrous, rarely with a few sparse hairs. Rachilla c. 1 mm, sparsely, minutely scabrid; prolongation twice as long. Lodicules 0.7-0.9 mm. Anthers 1.2-1.7-(2) mm. Caryopsis c. 2 × 0.7 mm.

S.: Canterbury and Otago, rare in southern Marlborough and Southland. Montane and subalpine grassland and open forest.

Endemic.

Poa intrusa is similar in overall size and anther length to P. celsa, but rarely has hair on the lemma, and the leaf-sheaths are not scabrid abaxially except occasionally just below the ligule. The short, finely-ciliate ligule distinguishes P. intrusa from both P. celsa and P. kirkii in which the ligule is longer and entire or occasionally erose, but not ciliate.