Poa breviglumis Hook.f.
≡P. imbecilla var. breviglumis (Hook.f.) Cheeseman Man. N.Z. Fl. 201 (1925)
≡P. breviglumis Hook.f. var. breviglumis (autonym Zotov 1965 op. cit. p. 131);
Holotype: K! J. D. Hooker Campbell's Island, moist banks near the sea, not uncommon, Dec. 1840.
=P. breviglumis var. brockiei Zotov, Rec. Dom. Mus. 5: 131 (1965);
Holotype: CHR 119414! V. D. Zotov Campbell Is., Tucker Cove, 8/1/1961.
=P. breviglumis var. moarii Zotov, Rec. Dom. Mus. 5: 132 (1965);
Holotype: CHR 88823A! N. T. Moar & J. B. Hair 1394 Lord Auckland Islands, Port Ross, Ranui Cove, 11.11.1954.
Soft, weak, loosely tufted, stoloniferous or rhizomatous perennial, c. 5-40 cm, rooting at lower nodes, smaller tufts sometimes with close-packed shoots; leaves < culms, bright green, leaf-blades persistent; branching extravaginal near plant base, intravaginal above. Leaf-sheath light green, sometimes purplish, later very light brown, membranous, distinctly ribbed, glabrous. Ligule 0.5-1.5-(3) mm, entire, glabrous throughout. Leaf-blade c. 2-9 cm × 0.5-1.5 mm, flat, abaxially slightly scabrid near acute, ± incurved tip, slightly scabrid adaxially and on margins. Culm (3)-10-25-(35) cm, internodes glabrous. Panicle 3-10-(16) cm, lax and delicate; branches often paired, very fine, scabrid, spreading, bearing few spikelets, pedicels scabrid on angles, often purplish. Spikelets 2-3-(5) mm, 2-3-(5)-flowered, light green, often purple-tinged. Glumes usually noticeably unequal, often purplish, smooth; lower 0.3-0.8-(1) mm, 1-nerved, triangular, subacute, upper (0.8)-1-1.5 mm, 3-nerved, more ovate, subobtuse, rarely with a few prickle-teeth on midnerve; margins entire. Lemma 1.2-2 mm, 3-nerved, subobtuse, smooth apart from a few prickle-teeth on midnerve; margins entire, usually purplish towards tip. Palea 1.0-1.5 mm, keels smooth, or with a few prickle-teeth near tip, interkeel smooth. Callus glabrous. Rachilla c. 0.5 mm, glabrous. Lodicules c. 0.4 mm, rarely hair-tipped. Anthers 0.2-0.3 mm. Gynoecium: ovary 0.4 mm; stigma-styles 0.7-0.8 mm. Caryopsis 0.9-1 × 0.3-0.5 mm. 2 n = 28.
N.: central and southern; S.: throughout; St.; Ant., A., C. Sea level to alpine in open forest, scrub, tussock grassland or herbfield.
Endemic.
Poa breviglumis var. brockiei was based on a plant from Campbell Id which was rather densely tufted and rather well-branched with short narrow leaves. Plants ± tufted at base and with well-branched stems seem to occur naturally throughout the range of the species; plants grown in pots often take this form also.
Only two collections have been made from Auckland Is (Edgar 1986 op. cit. p. 474). In these the lemma is c. 2.5 mm and sharply acute.
