Poa compressa L.

Stiff, loosely tufted, bluish or greyish green perennial to c. 40 cm, with erect, or geniculate and ascending culms from wiry rhizomes; branching extravaginal; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath light yellowish green to light brown, subcoriaceous, glabrous, keeled, otherwise indistinctly ribbed. Ligule c. 0.5–1 mm, ± truncate to somewhat rounded, very minutely ciliate, abaxially scabrid. Leaf-blade 2–7 cm × 1.5–2.5 mm, subcoriaceous, folded or flat, abaxially smooth, but scabrid on nerves and keel near curved tip, adaxially finely scabrid throughout; margins short-scabrid. Culm (8)–12–40 cm, flattened, nodes usually purplish, internodes glabrous. Panicle (1)–3–8 cm, usually contracted, stiff, with numerous, densely clustered spikelets, rarely more open and somewhat branched; rachis, branches and pedicels sparsely scabrid. Spikelets 3–6 mm, 3–6-flowered, green or purplish. Glumes ± equal, 3-nerved, ovate-elliptic, acute, smooth, but slightly scabrid on midnerve near tip; lower 2–2.3 mm, upper 2.2–2.5 mm. Lemma 2.2–2.7 mm, 5-nerved but lateral nerves faint, oblong, obtuse, with broad, purple, thin hyaline band above, internerves glabrous, midnerve glabrous or softly hairy in lower ½, lateral nerves glabrous or softly hairy near base. Palea ≈ lemma, keels short-scabrid, interkeel smooth. Callus usually with small tuft of soft hairs. Rachilla c. 0.4 mm, very minutely papillose. Lodicules 0.3–0.4 mm. Anthers 1–1.3 mm. Caryopsis c. 1 × 0.5 mm.

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