Lachnagrostis striata

Detailed description

Tufted, usually fine-leaved, low growing, tufted, bright green to red-green annual to short-lived perennial grass 50–400 mm tall. Branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath membranous, sparsely ribbed, smooth, rarely minutely scabrid, green to light brown. Ligule 1.0–5.5 mm long, more or less oblong, sometimes slightly tapered, denticulate, undersides sparsely prickle-toothed. Leaf-blade 10–100 × 0.6–2.0 mm, usually folded, so appearing narrower, undersides smooth except near apex, upper surface scabrid on prominent ribs, margins scabrid; apex subobtuse. Culm 15–300 mm long, erect or ascending, longer culms often projecting beyond uppermost sheaths, internodes minutely, retrorsely scabrid. Panicle 20–200 × 15–120 mm, delicate, rather contracted at first, becoming lax; branches filiform, finely scabrid, tipped by 1-few spikelets. Spikelets 2.0–3.5 mm, green or purplish, sometimes purple-red. Glumes subequal, acute, scabrid on mid-nerve in upper half or almost throughout, hyaline margins with a very few prickle-teeth near apex; lower slightly longer, linear-lanceolate, upper elliptic-lanceolate. Lemma 1.2–2.3 mm, ⅔–¾ the length of glumes, usually densely covered by stiff, straight hairs, ovate-oblong, truncate, lateral nerves scarcely excurrent; awn 0.2–3.0 mm, mostly straight, rarely geniculate, very fine, often purple, emanating from upper ⅓ of lemma. Palea two-thirds to about the same length as the lemma, keels 0.1 mm apart, slightly excurrent, apex minutely bifid, sparsely prickle-toothed. Callus ringed with short hairs to 0.3 mm, about ¼ length of lemma. Rachilla prolongation 0.5 mm long, tipped by equally long, or slightly longer hairs. Lodicules 0.3 mm, linear, acute. Anthers 0.2–0.6 mm long. Seed 0.8–1.4 × 0.4–0.6 mm.