- Taxon
- Gallery
- = Deschampsia tenella var. procera Petrie, Trans. New Zealand Inst. 33: 329 (1901)
Slender, smooth, leafy tufts, sometimes sward-forming, 9–35–(50) cm, with delicately branched shining panicles. Leaf-sheath membranous, broader than leaf-blade, rounded, sparsely strongly ribbed, light brown, sometimes purplish. Ligule 1–4 mm, tapered to acuminate tip. Leaf-blade (3)–5–15–(20) cm × 0.3–0.6 mm diam., involute, filiform, flaccid, smooth, tip minutely scabrid. Culm erect, or geniculate at base, green or purplish, usually overtopping leaves, internodes glabrous. Panicle (4)–10–(12) cm, very lax, branches few, filiform, erect to spreading, very sparsely minutely scabrid, naked below, tipped by 1-few spikelets. Spikelets 2–3–(4) mm, shining, hyaline to light green to brownish. Glumes unequal, < spikelet, ± keeled, sparsely minutely prickle-toothed on midnerve and margins near tip; lower 0.5–2 mm, 1-nerved, narrow- to oblong-lanceolate, acute, upper 1.2–2.5 mm, (1)–3-nerved, elliptic-lanceolate or elliptic-oblong, acute to obtuse. Lemma 1.5–2.5 mm, ovate-oblong, hyaline, shining, irregularly 3–4-toothed, awnless or awn subapical to 1–(1.5) mm. Palea ≤ lemma, apex shortly bifid, keels minutely scaberulous. Callus hairs 0.2–0.7–(1) mm, ± sparse to dense. Rachilla hairs c. 0.5 mm, silky, ± dense. Anthers 0.3–0.7–(1) mm. Caryopsis 1–1.5 × 0.3–0.5 mm. 2n= 26.
[From: Edgar and Connor (2000) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 5 (second printing).]