Small, grey-green, hoary, stiff tufts, shortly rhizomatous; leaves < culms; new shoots intravaginal, crowded, ± swollen at base. Sheaths pale stramineous, light purple above, with scattered long hairs increasing towards collar, culm sheaths especially hairy; collar hairs 1.5-3 mm long, extending across back of lamina; ligule 0.4-0.5 mm long; lamina to 5 cm long, densely and conspicuously covered with long stiff hairs, inrolled with thickened sparsely scabrous margins, tip obtuse. Culms up to 15 cm tall, glabrous, long-hairy below inflorescence. Panicle small, compact, erect, up to 2 cm long with few large spikelets on short pedicels; rhachis and pedicels conspicuously clothed with long stiff hairs. Spikelets (4)-6-8-flowered, awns exserted from glumes. Glumes irregularly purpled, lanceolate, subobtuse, ± equal, (7.5)—9.5—13 mm long, lower 11-13-nerved, upper 9-11-nerved. Lemma (2.2)-2.8-3.0 mm long, 9-nerved, upper and lower row of hairs very dense, continuous, upper row < lemma lobes, lower row overlapping upper, glabrous elsewhere; lemma lobes (6)-8-10 mm long, tapering to strong awns not much < central awn, lobes with a short (0.3-0.4 mm) acute membranous subsidiary lobe, adaxially with tufts of hairs near base of awn sinus. Central awn (6.5)-9- 12 mm long; column c. 3 mm long, slightly < upper lemma hairs. Palea (2.2)-3-3.4 mm long, broad and rounded across top, < upper lemma hairs, hairs short, scattered between keels, margins with longer fine hairs. Callus 0.4-0.7 mm long, marginal hair tufts just reaching lower lemma hairs. Rhachilla 0.2- 0.3 mm long. Anthers 0.3-0.4 mm long. Caryopsis c. 1.5 × 1 mm; embryo 0.7 mm long; hilum 0.4 mm long. Naturalised in New Zealand from Australia.

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