Flora of New Zealand Series

purple wire-grass

Tufts about 50 cm with stiff, wiry, divergent culms each branched from upper glabrous, swollen nodes; branching extravaginal, cataphylls cream, shining. Leaf-sheath striate, finely scabrid, purplish, terminating in fine twisting hairs, c. 2 mm. Ligule c. 0.4 mm, membranous, shortly ciliate. Leaf-blade 6-16 cm × c. 1 mm, involute, abaxially glabrous, adaxially densely toothed with some longer hairs. Culm rigid, cane-like, branches above subtended by loose sheaths, internodes finely scabrid. Panicle 8-12 cm, narrow, spike-like or ± loose; branches ± erect or sometimes slightly spreading, branches and pedicels scabrid. Spikelets 9-15 mm. Glumes unequal, < lemma, keeled, 1-nerved, acuminate to shortly (2 mm) awned; lower glume 5-7 mm extensively prickle-toothed, upper 7-9 mm ± glabrous. Lemma 4.5-8.5 mm, narrow-linear, convolute, purple-mottled, smooth but scabrid on midnerve above, tipped by 3 spreading straight awns 6-15 mm, lacking columns. Callus c. 1 mm, densely short-hairy. Palea 2 mm, < lemma. Lodicules 2, c. 2 mm, nerved, glabrous, dentate. Stamens 3, anthers 1.3-1.5 mm, shortly tailed. Gynoecium: ovary 1 mm; stigma-styles 2 mm. Caryopsis not seen. Fig. 18.

N.: Mt Maunganui near Tauranga. Northern slopes at base of rock outcrop.

Naturalised from Australia; occurs in Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.

A. ramosa was first collected on Mt Maunganui in March, 1938 by M. Hodgkins (CHR 19373). Plants have persisted in this locality, and again it was collected in July, 1984, by M. D. Wilcox (NZFRI 14643, duplicate CHR 416548A,B).

Fig. 18 Aristida ramosa S, spikelet, × 7; G 1, G 2, glumes, × 12; L, lemma dorsal view, × 9; P, palea dorsal view, × 12; Lo, lodicules, × 30; O, ovary, styles and stigmas, × 30; St, stamens, × 30. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X7L]