Anthosachne kingiana subsp. multiflora (Banks & Sol. ex Hook.f.) Govaerts

Tufted many-noded stoloniferous open grass with scabrid wide green leaf-blades often shorter than smooth culms; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath 6–10 mm, ridged, striate, margin chartaceous, glabrous or retrorsely short hairy. Ligule 0.2–0.5 mm, erose. Collar curved, thickened, infrequently bearing long hairs. Auricles 0.5–1.5 mm, clasping, glabrous or bearing long hairs. Leaf-blades 10–20 cm × 2 – 4 mm, flat usually bright green but sometimes glaucous, abaxially shortly antrorsely scabrid or occasionally glabrous, adaxially with antrorse short hairs or prickle teeth on nerves or sometimes with longer hairs; margin shortly prickle-toothed. Culm 30–60 cm, often stout, scabrid below inflorescence, otherwise glabrous, nodes ± geniculate below; culm leaves often very broad. Inflorescence 10–25 cm, of 6–15 spikelets occasionally paired at base, rachis convex surface often sparsely prickle-toothed. Spikelets 14–25 mm, of 7–12 florets. Glumes ± equal, 5–9 mm, 3–5 nerved, eccentrically keeled, often broad, margins chartaceous, ciliate; keel and nerves prickle-toothed above elsewhere glabrous, sometimes produced into short awn. Lemma usuall y with small scattered prickle teeth above, glabrous below except on margin, apex often bifid when mucronate, awn absent or ± = lemma length, variable in one spikelet. Palea 9–12 mm, apex truncate or retuse, ciliate. Rachilla 1–2.5 mm, hairy. Callus 0.75–1 mm, incompletely shortly bearded. Lodicules 0.8–1.25 mm, simple, linear. Anthers 3–5 mm, purple or yellow. Gynoecium: ovary 1.5–2 mm; stigma-styles 1.75 mm. Caryopsis 7–10 mm; embryo 1 mm.

[Reproduced from Connor (1994, New Zealand J. Bot. 32: 125-154) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand as Anthosachne multiflora]