- = Festuca ovina var. eu-matthewsii Howarth, 48: 65 (1928) nom. inval.
- = Festuca ovina var. grandiflora Howarth, 48: 64 (1928)
- = Festuca ovina var. grandiflora Howarth, 48: 66 (1928)
- ≡ Festuca novae-zelandiae var. grandiflora (Howarth) St.-Yves, Candollea 4: 298 (1931)
- = Festuca petriei f. tenuifolia Howarth, 48: 71 (1928)
Slender tussock with intravaginal branches, with fine and long glaucous leaf-blades. Prophyll 3–5 cm, keels irregularly but mostly antrorsely ciliate. Leaf-sheath 5–10 cm, stramineous occasionally reddened, glabrous, striate, margins becoming membranous; apical auricles 0.4–0.7 mm, truncate or rounded, ciliate. Ligule as for auricles. Collar 0.6–1.7 mm, manifestly thickened, usually becoming brown coloured, adaxially with many small white hairs. Leaf-blade 20–60 cm × 0.4–0.7 mm diam., terete or hexagonal and ribbed, glaucous, glabrous except for prickle-teeth at pointed apex, disarticulating at collar, adaxially and on margin a multitude of small (0.1–0.15 mm) white hairs; TS: 5 vascular bundles, 7–11 sclerenchyma strands. Culm 25–60 cm, erect or geniculate at base, nodes 2–3 evident, internodes glabrous. Panicle 5–25 cm, with 7–9 nodes of 10–30 spikelets; basal branches 4–5 cm, binate, lax, of 2–6 spikelets and naked below, soon becoming single ascending branches, uppermost 3–5 spikelets solitary on pedicels; rachis glabrous or sparsely prickle-toothed below becoming more so, branches and pedicels prickle-toothed. Spikelets 10–17 mm × 6 mm, of 4–7–(12) florets. Glumes unequal, keeled, prickle-teeth on keel and at apex, variously elsewhere, usually green centrally lighter at margins, sometimes purpled, margin ciliate; lower 3–4.5 mm, 1-nerved, long triangular acute, upper 4.5–7.5 mm, 3-nerved occasionally 5-nerved, narrowly ovate, acute to obtuse. Lemma 6–9 mm, rounded, lobes small (0.1–0.2 mm), glaucous, prickle-teeth from outer nerve to ciliate margin, scattered elsewhere, denser near awn; awn 0.1–2.5 mm. Palea 6–8 mm, sometimes > lemma, deeply (0.4–0.6 mm) bifid, keels toothed to base or nearly so, flanks and interkeel hairy above. Callus 0.2–0.5 mm, margin very short stiff hairy; articulation flat. Rachilla 1–1.5 mm, very shortly antrorsely stiff hairy. Lodicules 0.7–1.5 mm, lobed or entire, hair-tipped. Anthers 3.5–4.4 mm, yellow. Gynoecium: ovary 0.5–1 mm, hispid hairs at apex (0.12 mm) in 2 lateral groups or occasionally surrounding apex and longer; stigma-styles 1.4–2.8 mm. Caryopsis 3–4.8 mm; embryo 1 mm; hilum 1.7–3 mm.
[From: Edgar and Connor (2000) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 5 (second printing).]