Micranthus alopecuroideus (L.) Eckl.

Plants mostly 200-450 mm high, base usually sheathed with collar of short fibres. Corm mostly 10-12 mm diam., tunics of dark brown, relatively coarse, reticulate fibres, drawn into short bristles above. Stem usually simple or 1-or 2(3)-branched, when unbranched often with one or more scales below base of spike; usually bearing 1 or more cormlets in axil of lowermost foliage leaf. Leaves 2 to 4(5), lowermost 1 or 2 plane, broadly to narrowly falcate (occasionally ± lanceolate) or linear, (2-)5-10(-15) mm wide, with moderately prominent main vein; margins slightly or occasionally heavily thickened, hyaline when dry; upper 1 or 2(3) leaves largely sheathing. Spike mostly 40-to 80-flowered, often much congested, with internodes 1.5-3.0 mm long; bracts 5-7 mm long, outer with broad to narrow brown centre and translucent membranous margins, inner ± as long as outer, notched apically, translucent with 2 dark veins slightly broader toward base; lower or all nodes sometimes vegetative and then bracts paler in colour and subtending one (or more) cormlets in each axil. Flowers usually dark blue, sometimes pale blue, often lower 1/3-1/4 of tepals paler blue or white, distally edged with a thin darker blue line, unscented; perianth tube ± 5 mm long; tepals subequal, elliptic, 7-8 x ± 3 mm, with short narrow, claw-like base. Filaments ± 5 mm long, diverging in upper half; anthers oblong, 3-4 mm long, pale mauve; pollen white to pale blue. Style ± 7 mm long, usually dividing between upper 1/3 of filaments and lower 1/3 of anthers; branches ± 1.2-1.6 mm long, divided for ± half their length. Capsules oblong to narrowly ovoid, ± 5 mm long but ± 4 mm long when dry. Seeds 3.5-4.0 mm long, 3 or 4 per locule.