Koeleria antarctica

Detailed description

Densely tufted, dull green to grey-green grass up to 400 mm tall, with rather rigid leaves usually reaching or sometimes overtopping the dense spike-like panicles. Branching extravaginal at plant base, sometimes intravaginal above. Leaf-sheath to 40 mm, very minutely pubescent or with extremely minute appressed hairs between ribs. Ligule 0.2–0.6 mm, truncate , erose often sparsely minutely ciliate, undersides sometimes minutely prickle-toothed. Leaf-blade 35–220 × 1.5–4 mm, flat or inrolled, undersides mostly smooth, often scabrid near the long-narrow tapering apex; upper surface ribbed with sparse to dense minute hairs and prickle-teeth on ribs, hairs slightly longer near ligule; margins minutely prickle-toothed. Culm 40–300 mm long, internodes glabrous, occasionally bearing a few minute prickle-teeth below panicle. Panicle 20–150 × 6–25 mm, compact, oblong, very dense, rarely with some lower branches and pedicels smooth or with sparse minute prickle-teeth or rarely minute hairs. Spikelets 4.5–7.0 mm, greyish green or brownish amber. Glumes unequal, hyaline, keel thickened with sparse long prickle-teeth on upper ½; lower ⅔–⅘ length of upper, linear-lanceolate, upper slightly < spikelet, elliptic; margins with prickle-teeth near acuminate to almost mucronate apex. Lemma 4.0–6.2 mm, bidentate to shortly bicuspid, papillose, prickle-toothed above and on keel; awn 3.5–6.0, initially straight becoming recurved, insertion in upper ¼ of lemma. Palea with minute prickle-teeth on keels and usually on margins. Callus hairs to 0.5 mm. Rachilla hairs to 2.5 mm. Lodicules c. 1 mm, glabrous. Anthers 1.0–1.7 mm. Ovary 0.8 mm; stigma-styles to 1.3 mm. Seed 2.5–3.0 × 0.6 mm.