Lachnagrostis littoralis subsp. littoralis

Detailed description

Densely tufted, light green to greyish green or glaucous, annual grass 30–400 mm tall, whole plant often withering early and culms not breaking up below panicle. Branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath finely striate, subhyaline, smooth or minutely scabrid above. Ligule 0.2–3.0 mm, oblong, tapered, subobtuse or denticulate, sometimes lacerate, undersides sparsely scabrid. Leaf-blade firm 10–80 × 1.5–5 mm, flat, or sometimes involute and 0.5 mm diameter, underside smooth or minutely papillose, rarely scabrid, upper surface minutely scabrid on ribs and margins, leaf tip acute to subobtuse. Culm 10–140 mm, included within leaf-sheaths, internodes finely scabrid below panicle, rarely visible until culm breaks up at maturity. Panicle 20–120 × 5–85 mm, delicate, ± contracted, later spreading, enclosed at base by sheath of uppermost culm-leaf; branches and branchlets ± erect, all ± equal in length, slender, sparsely scabrid, naked for much of their length, the ultimate branchlets tipped by 1–2 spikelets. Spikelets 2.5–6.0 mm, light green or greenish brown, slender. Glumes narrow elliptic-lanceolate, usually equal or the upper slightly shorter, acute to acuminate to shortly mucronate, 1-nerved, smooth, keel scabrid, margins hyaline, finely scabrid above. Lemma 1.5–2.5 mm long, oblong-ovate, 5-nerved with scattered to rather dense short silky hairs, often glabrous above, lateral nerves shortly excurrent, faintly scabrid; awn 3–6 mm long, ± mid-dorsal, geniculate, slightly twisted near base. Palea slightly < lemma, nerves 0.1–0.2 mm apart, keels minutely excurrent, faintly scabrid at apex. Callus hairs dense, very short, to 0.5 mm long covering 20% of lemma. Rachilla prolongation minute 0.2–1.0 mm, with hair tuft 0.5–1.5 mm long. Lodicules 0.7 mm long, linear, acute. Anthers 0.3–1.0 mm. Seed 1.0–1.5 × 0.4–0.7 mm.