Spinifex sericeus

Detailed description

Stoloniferous, often forming colonies stretching to 80–(160) m along sand dunes, with much-branched, knotted, rope-like, hard, creeping culms. Leaf-sheath leathery, strongly-nerved, silky-hairy. Ligule minute, ciliate, hairs very dense to 6 mm. Leaf-blade c. 300 mm, inrolled and c. 1.5 mm diameter, leathery, strongly nerved, silky-villous. Culm 2.5-6.0 mm diameter, internodes glabrous, silky-villous below inflorescence. Dioecious*: male inflorescence with numerous pedunculate racemes, 0–120 mm, bearing up to 15 silky-villous spikelets, each terminated by a short bristle c. 10 mm; raceme clusters subtended by spathaceous bracts ≤ raceme. Male spikelets 100 mm; glumes ≤ spikelet, 7–9-nerved; lemmas similar to glumes but less villous, 5-nerved; each floret with 2 emarginate lodicules 0.6 × 0.3 mm, and 3 pollen-filled anthers to 6 mm. Female inflorescence very conspicuous, globular, appearing spiny with strict bracts to 150 mm, disarticulating from culm at maturity and wheeling along sand; spikelets solitary, hidden at base of bract, 15–18 mm; glumes equal to spikelet, 5–7-nerved, silky-villous; lemmas shorter, less villous, rather chartaceous, 3–5-nerved; lower floret sterile; upper floret female, larger, with 2 lodicules c. 1 × 1 mm, and 3 stamens with stout filaments bearing white, pollen-less anthers up to 1.5 mm; ovary 1.5–2.0 mm, stigma-styles 17–20 mm; seed free, c. 4.5–5.0 × 2.5 mm.

* but stems with both male and female flowers are known