Enteropogon acicularis

Tufted or occasionally stoloniferous perennial, culms erect, rarely branched at nodes, to c. 50 cm high; leaves glabrous or with a few fine, tubercle-based hairs; blade flat, scabrous on upper surface, to 20 cm long and 6 mm wide, midline usually contrasting-pale on the upper surface. Inflorescence an umbel of 7–15 spikes, 5–18 cm long, widely spreading but often not all in a plane, sometimes flexuose. Spikelets 2–3-flowered, the lower bisexual, the upper male or sterile, purplish at maturity; glumes narrow, acute, the lower 2–4 mm, the upper 5–8 mm long; lemmas narrow-lanceolate, the lower 5.5–8 mm long (including the elongate, hairy callus), awn 9–15 mm long; second lemma 4–6 mm long, with an awn almost as long as that of the first; third lemma (if present) c. 2 mm long, with an awn 4–8 mm. Flowers mainly Sep.–Apr.