Chionochloa spiralis

Detailed description

Slender tussock with narrow leaves falling and leaving inwardly spiralling sheaths. Sheaths to 200 mm, glabrous, pale, chartaceous, spiralling and breaking into short segments, margin hairy above, apical tuft to 3 mm. Ligule to 1 mm. Lamina to 500 × 1 mm, acicular junceous, veins few, falling with part of sheath, abaxially with occasional long (2 mm) hairs below, adaxially with dense weft of long (3 mm) hairs at base projecting over smooth margin, scattered prickle teeth above. Culm to 650 mm, internodes glabrous. Inflorescence to 120 mm, narrow, glabrous except for occasional long hairs at axils. Spikelets of up to 7 florets. Glumes glabrous, > adjacent lemma lobes, acute or shortly awned; lower to 12 mm, 3-nerved, upper to 13 mm, 3–5-nerved. Lemma to 5 mm; hairs dense on margin fewer aside central nerve, glabrous or sparsely hairy elsewhere, < sinus; lateral lobes up to 4.5 mm, long triangular-acute; central awn up to 13 mm divergent from 2.5 mm flat column. Palea to 6 mm. Callus 0.5 mm, hairs to 3 mm. Rachilla to 0.8 mm. Lodicules to 0.75 mm. Anthers to 4 mm. Ovary to 0.75 mm, stigma-styles to 4.5 mm. Seeds not described.