Nassella trichotoma (Nees) Hack. ex Arechav.

Caespitose perennial with shoots swollen and white at base, and open ± purple panicle, branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath to 5 cm, scabrid near ligule and on upper margins, becoming glabrous below. Ligule to 1.5 mm, decurrent, symmetrical or asymmetrical, rounded or apiculate, short-hairy or scabrid. Leaf-blade to 35 cm × 0.5 mm diam., inrolled appearing terete, very stiff, acicular, abaxially markedly antrorsely scabrid, adaxially clothed in short dense hairs; margins smooth. Culm to 70 cm, glabrous except for hairs above and below nodes. Panicle to 25 cm, open, much-branched, drooping, at maturity readily detaching with culm and blowing freely; rachis, branches and pedicels scabrid. Glumes ± equal, 5–8 mm, deeply purple-suffused, 3-nerved, produced into awn c. 2 mm, nerves and margins stiff hairy. Lemma to 2.5 mm, 5-nerved, gibbous, tubercular-scabrid except on margin, lobes short, apiculate; coma present; awn tardily caducous to 35 mm, weakly 1-geniculate, short stiff hairy, column loosely twisted, to 15 mm, arista to 20 mm. Palea c. 1 mm, completely enclosed by lemma, glabrous, hyaline, weakly bifid at apex. Callus to 0.3 mm, blunt, hairs to 1.5 mm. Lodicules 2, to 1 mm in chasmogamous flowers, to 0.6 mm in cleistogamous flowers. Anthers penicillate, in chasmogamous flowers to 2 mm; in cleistogamous flowers 1 fertile anther to 0.7 mm, and 2 aborted anthers to 0.3 mm. Plate 3D.

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