Spinifex sericeus

Features

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 ¡Ü raceme. Male spikelets 100 mm; glumes ¡Ü spikelet, 7-9-nerved; lemmas similar to glumes but less villous, 5-nerved; each floret with 2 emarginate lodicules 0.6 x 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 x 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 x 2.5 mm. * but stems with both male and female flowers are known