Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz.) S.T.Blake

Tufted, winter dormant, to 1 m, with greenish or glaucous leaves; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath straw-coloured, subcoriaceous, scarcely keeled above, glabrous. Ligule 0.5–1 mm, truncate, short-ciliate. Leaf-blade 10–20 cm × 2.5–3.5 mm, smooth or scabrid, keel and ribs prominent; margins minutely scabrid, sometimes a few, long, fine, tubercle-based hairs near ligule, long-tapered to fine, acicular tip. Culm to c. 90 cm, often branched above, nodes hairy, internodes glabrous. Racemes 5–8, very slender, dark reddish purple, paniculately arranged, 2–4 cm, naked below for 1–1.5 cm, short hairs in axils; spikelet pedicels c. 2 mm, margins densely ciliate. Pedicelled spikelet ♂: c. 3 mm, glumes, lower lemma and 3 stamens as in sessile spikelet; or Ø and composed of lower glume only and very reduced upper glume. Sessile spikelet: c. 3 mm surrounded by callus hairs c. 0.5 mm; glumes submembranous, lower = spikelet, 5–7-nerved, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, with hairs on keels and scattered in lower ½, elsewhere glabrous, slightly depressed at centre, upper slightly shorter, lanceolate, acute, finely scabrid on keel near tip and minutely sparsely hairy near margins, elsewhere glabrous; lemma of lower floret ≤ glumes, ± oblong, tip erose; lemma of upper floret narrow at base and topped by a stout brown geniculate 12–15 mm awn; palea 0; stamens 3, anthers c. 1 mm; caryopsis c. 1.3 × 0.5 mm, brownish; embryo c. 0.6 mm; hilum basal, 0.2 mm.

[From: Edgar and Connor (2000) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 5 (second printing).]