Festuca multinodis

Detailed description

Scrambling, prostrate, ± ascending or sometimes densely caespitose, glaucous grass with many-leaved vegetative shoots and inflorescences exceeding these. Branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath 30–100 mm, glabrous, ribbed, manifestly broader than leaf-blade, becoming fibrous with evident white nerves; apical auricles 0.2–0.7 mm, rounded, ciliate. Ligule 0.2–0.5 mm, flat to ± triangular between auricles, ciliate. Collar scarcely or ± thickened. Leaf-blade 50–250 × 0.3–0.9 mm, weakly hexagonal and ribbed, often terete usually secund, glaucous, smooth except for prickle-teeth at apex, adaxially and on margins antrorsely short white hairy becoming less so above. Culm 200–500 mm, greatly exceeding leaf-blades, nodes brown to purple-brown usually geniculate, internodes glabrous. Panicle (25–200 mm, with 5–9 nodes, 6–25 spikelets; branches spreading erect or weakly so, occasionally ± divergent, binate or solitary, basal branch (10–100 mm of 3–6 spikelets, naked below or not naked below (especially in Cook Strait), uppermost 5–6 spikelets, imbricate, solitary on short pedicels; rachis prickle-toothed often glabrous below, branches and pedicels prickle-toothed (glabrous throughout in Cook Strait); frequently tortuous below. Spikelets 7–20 × 3–5 mm, of 4–9 stramineous florets. Glumes unequal, evidently keeled, linear-oblong narrowing abruptly to an acute or mucronate apex, glabrous but occasionally prickle-toothed on keel above, apex sometimes shortly or evidently ciliate, margins membranous, ciliate above; lower 2.5–4.5 mm, 1-nerved, upper 4–6 mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 5–6 mm, glaucous, apex shortly lobed or 0, 5-nerved, keeled, smooth except for prickle-teeth at base and extending from callus to outer nerve below, and on keel above; awn 0 or 0.5–1.5 mm. Palea 4.5–6.5 mm, greater than or equal to lemma, acute, shortly bifid, keels toothed towards apex, interkeel hairs above but sometimes to base, flanks short ciliate above. Callus 0.3–0.5 mm, upper margins shortly bearded, less so centrally; articulation ± oblique. Rachilla 1.0–1.3 mm, sparsely short stiff hairy. Lodicules 0.7–1.5 mm, bifid or lobed, usually glabrous but occasionally hair-tipped. Anthers 2.0–3.0 mm, yellow to orange. Ovary 0.6–1.0 mm, ± turbinate, apex glabrous or with hispid hairs; stigma-styles 1.5–2.5 mm. Seed 3.0–3.5 mm.