Is it a native?

Fine-head Spear-grass - native (Austrostipa oligostachya)

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spear-grass spear-grass

Alternative names: Stipa oligostachya

Native. Perennial. C3.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

Identification:

  • it is a tall grass (to a metre high)
  • the flower clusters are rather sparse, to 50cm long
  • the glumes are longer than the lemma body
  • the spikelets have a single lemma
  • the lemmas are awned, and the awns are twice-bent
  • the leaves are inrolled
  • the ligules are membranous and 0.5-2mm long
  • the nodes (along the stalk) have soft, short hairs
  • the lemmas are 7-9mm long (excluding the awn), deep reddish-brown (when mature), and with white to golden hairs
  • the glumes are 11-18mm long
  • the awns are 50-80mm long, and 9-17mm to the first bend, and with hairs to 0.8mm long.

    • oligostachys: with few or weak spikes.

    A common grass.

    1: Lemma with twice-bent awn. 2: Recently opened panicle (flower cluster).