Chloris gayana Kunth

Tufted perennials, brownish green, tough, branched above, to 1 m; stolons strong, wiry. Leaf-sheath keeled, chartaceous, often faintly purplish. Ligule 0.4–0.6–(0.8) mm, minutely ciliate. Collar hairs 3–5 mm. Leaf-blade 10–30 cm × (1.5)–3–6 mm, folded to flat, stiff, narrow linear-lanceolate, strongly keeled, minutely scabrid, adaxially sometimes with a row of long hairs at base; margins thickened, much-narrowed to fine acicular tip. Culm 60–80 cm, ± flattened and geniculate at base, internodes slightly scabrid below inflorescence. Racemes 7–18, spike-like, ± digitate, tawny brown, 4.5–7.5–(10) cm × 3–3.5 mm, erect, bunched together, bearing close-set shortly pedicelled green to golden-brown or brownish spikelets; rachis slender, short-scabrid, pubescent near base. Glumes unequal, membranous, 1-nerved, keel sparsely prickle-toothed; lower 1.2–1.7 mm, narrow-lanceolate, glabrous, acute, upper 2–3 mm, elliptic-lanceolate, sparsely scabrid, ± truncate above, midnerve excurrent forming awn 0.2–0.5 mm. Spikelets 3-flowered. Basal ☿ floret: lemma 2.5–3.5 mm, 3-nerved, lateral nerves and callus sparsely hairy with longer hairs near apex, midnerve scabrid above, awn fine, scabrid, 1.4–3 mm; palea 2.5–3 mm, keels purple, minutely scabrid in upper ½, interkeel ± smooth, minutely scabrid near notched apex; anthers 1.4–1.8 mm; gynoecium with ovary c. 0.4 mm, stigma-styles c. 1.5 mm; caryopsis not seen. Median Ø floret: lemma 2–3 mm, 3-nerved, oblong, scabrid near almost truncate apex, awn 0.4–1.5 mm, scabrid; palea 2–3 mm, similar to palea of basal floret but ± entire; anthers when present, pollen-sterile, 0.7–1.3 mm. Apical Ø floret: lemma empty, 0.3–1.2 mm, inrolled, truncate, minutely scabrid above, sometimes mucronate, borne at tip of glabrous rachilla 1.1–1.5 mm.

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