Zoysia macrantha
Desv. Prickly CouchRhizomes often deeply buried, culms and leaves on erect stems to 30 (but often only to c. 10) cm high. Leaves glabrous; blade 1–10 cm long and 1–4 mm wide, often inrolled when young, rigid, often sharp-pointed; ligule minute, but usually with longer (to 2 mm) hairs at the sides. Inflorescence a spike-like raceme mostly 1.5–4 cm long. Spikelets 2–5 mm long, with short pedicels expanded near the truncate apex; glume shining, often blackish, acute to acuminate, occasionally with a short (to 1 mm) awn, margins fused near base; lemma slightly shorter than glume; palea shorter than lemma.
MuM, GleP, VVP, GipP, OtP, WaP, DunT, EGL, EGU, WPro.
Zoysia tenuifolia Willd. ex Trin. (Mascarene Grass) was collected from farmland south of Sale in 1978. Although growing vigorously at the site, it has not been collected since and does not appear to have become naturalised in Victoria. It is readily distinguishable from Z. macrantha by the longer, rather weak and very fine foliage (less than 1 mm diam.). It is occasionally used as a coastal lawn grass or stabilizer of sand in northern Australia.
Walsh, N.G. (1994). Poaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 356–627. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
