Reed Bent-grass -a native (Deyeuxia quadriseta)

Native. Perennial. C3.

Uncommon. It has been recorded from Fryers Ridge and Humboldt.

Identification:

• Reed Bent-grass is a variable grass; its height varies from 15cm to 1.5 metres
• the flower spray is dense and contracted
• the glumes are longer than the lemma bodies
• the spikelets have a single lemma with four small teeth at the apex
• the lemmas are awned from near the base and the lemmas have hair tufts on the callus (the lower part of the lemma)
• the leaves are flat or rolled
• the ligule is rounded, 1.6-6mm long.

Recognise Reed Bent-grass from the dense cylindrical flower cluster, the awn which rises from near the base of the lemma, and the four small teeth at the apex of the lemma.

Deyeuxia: honouring N. Deyeux,1753-1837, professor of medicine and pharmacy, Paris; quadriseta: with four bristles.

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