Eriochloa crebra
S.T.BlakeSlender, tufted perennial. Culms erect, to c. 60 cm high, nodes glabrous, but culm usually with a ring of short, sparse hairs immediately below node. Leaves glabrous; blade 4–15 cm long and 2–6 mm wide; ligule c. 0.5 mm long. Panicle 4–20 cm long, one-sided, with 4–10 loosely appressed branches to 5 cm long. Spikelets dorsally compressed, 3.5–5 mm long, shortly pedicellate, in two rows along the flattened branches, pedicels sparsely ciliate toward apex with hairs to c. 1 mm long; lower glume pale to purplish, c. 0.5 mm long, closely adhering to rachilla; upper glume obscurely 5-nerved, acute to acuminate, as long as the spikelet, lightly covered dorsally with appressed white; lower (sterile) lemma equal to upper glume; fertile lemma elliptic, 2–3 mm long (including a slender terminal awn c. 0.5 mm long), hardened, white, granular, sometimes finely transversely ridged. Flowers Nov.–Jan.
Wim, VRiv, MSB. Known in Victoria by only a few collections from the far north-west (Neds Corner Station, Lake Wallawalla) where growing on the Murray R. floodplain, usually associated with chenopod shrubland, and an isolated occurrence amongst granite boulders near the summit of Mt Wycheproof.
Differs from the very similar E. pseudoacrotricha in the absence of a mucro or awn on the spikelet. Further differing (at least in Victoria) in having glabrous culm nodes and shorter and fewer hairs encircline the lower cup-like glume.
