Supple Spear-grass - native (Austrostipa mollis)

Alternative names: Stipa mollis, Soft Spear-grass.

Native. Perennial. C3.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

Identification:

• the glumes are longer than the lemma body
• the spikelets have a single lemma
• the lemmas are long-awned
• the leaves are rolled into a cylinder
• the ligule membranous, fringed, truncate and 0.3-2.0mm long.
• the (dry) awn is twice bent, and hairy with hairs over a millemetre long
• the flower clusters are to about 30cm long, the flowers are densely clustered
• the nodes (along the stalk) are hairy
• the lemmas are 7-9mm long (excluding the awn), dark brown (when mature) and with with light-brown hairs
• the glumes are 14-22 mm long, the first glumes c2mm longer and with 3 or more veins
• the awns are 6-10cm long with two distinct bends and hairs more than a mm long
• the first bend of the awn is 10-15m from the lemma tip.

Supple Spear-grass is the most common of the tall spear grasses in this area. It is common along roadsides and in grasslands, and is scattered in forest areas.

The flower-head is a dense spray. As the flower dries the awns may become tangled to form a hairy mass.

mollis: soft, usually meaning softly hairy, like velvet.

More photos.