Scrambling, prostrate ascending, extravaginally branching with buds bursting forth on many-noded stolons, or sometimes densely caespitose, glaucous grass with many-leaved vegetative shoots and inflorescences exceeding the usually secund leaves. Prophyll short, membranous throughout; keels usually with retrorse hairs. Branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath 3-10 cm (longer on shoots with very many leaf-blades), glabrous, ribbed, manifestly broader than leaf-blade, becoming fibrous with evident white nerves; apical auricles 0.2-0.5-0.7 mm, rounded, ciliate. Ligule 0.2-0.5 mm, flat to ± triangular between auricles, ciliate. Collar scarcely or ± thickened. Leaf-blade (5)-10-25 cm × 0.3-0.5-(0.9) mm diam., weakly hexagonal and ribbed, often terete usually secund, glaucous, smooth except for prickle-teeth at apex, adaxially and on margins antrorsely short white hairy becoming less so above; TS: 5 vascular bundles and 7 sclerenchyma strands, occasionally 7 bundles and 9 strands. Culm 20-40-(50) cm, greatly exceeding leaf-blades, nodes brown to purple-brown usually geniculate, internodes glabrous. Panicle (2.5)-5-10-(20) cm, with 5-9 nodes, (6)-10-15-(25) spikelets; branches spreading erect or weakly so, occasionally ± divergent, binate or solitary, basal branch (1)-2-4-(10) cm of 3-6 spikelets, naked below or not naked below especially in Cook Strait, uppermost 5-6 spikelets, imbricate, solitary on short (0.5-1 mm) pedicels; rachis prickle-toothed often glabrous below, branches and pedicels prickle-toothed but glabrous throughout in Cook Strait; frequently tortuous below. Spikelets 7-15-(20) mm × 3-5 mm, of 4-6-(9) stramineous florets. Glumes unequal, evidently keeled, linear-oblong narrowing abruptly to an acute or mucronate apex, glabrous but occasionally prickle-toothed on keel above, apex sometimes shortly or evidently ciliate, margins membranous, ciliate above; lower 2.5-3-(4.5) mm, 1-nerved, upper 4-5.5-(6) mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 5-6 mm, glaucous, apex shortly lobed or 0, 5-nerved, keeled, smooth except for prickle-teeth at base and extending from callus to outer nerve below, and on keel above; awn 0 or 0.5-1.5 mm. Palea (4.5)-5-5.7-(6.5) mm, ≥ lemma, acute, shortly (0.2-0.4 mm) bifid, keels toothed towards apex, interkeel hairs above but sometimes to base, flanks short ciliate above. Callus 0.3-0.4-(0.5) mm, upper margins shortly bearded, less so centrally; articulation ± oblique. Rachilla 1-1.3 mm, sparsely short stiff hairy. Lodicules 0.7-1.5 mm, bifid or lobed, usually glabrous but occasionally hair-tipped. Anthers 2.0-3.0 mm, yellow to orange. Gynoecium: ovary 0.6-1.0 mm, ± turbinate, apex glabrous or with hispid hairs; stigma-styles 1.5-2.5 mm. Caryopsis 3-3.5 mm; embryo 0.5 mm; hilum 3 mm. 2n= 56.
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