Eulalia aurea
(Bory) Kunth Silky BrowntopPerennial to c. 1 m high, with tufts of leaves arising from a short, knotty rhizome. Leaves virtually smooth, often somewhat glaucous and/or reddish toward base; blade to 20 cm long and 6 mm wide, glabrous or with scattered hairs on upper surface; ligule truncate, to 2 mm long, glabrous. Inflorescence forked or subdigitate with up to 5 narrow, brown, silky-hairy racemes, 2–6 cm long; glumes 4–5.5 mm long, densely and evenly covered with appressed hairs to c. 3 mm long; sterile lemma vestigial or none; fertile lemma c. 2 mm long, truncate or shallowly bifid, its awn relatively stout, 10–15 mm long, twice bent and spirally twisting at maturity; palea vestigial, barely 0.5 mm long. Flowers mainly Nov.–Apr.
MuM, Wim, VRiv, MSB, RobP, MuF, NIS. All mainland states. Southern Asia and Africa. Rare in Victoria where largely confined to heavy alluvial soils of the Murray River floodplain between Yarrawonga and Echuca south to near Shepparton, with outlying occurrences at Kings Billabong near Mildura and Lindsay Island in the extreme north-west corner of the State. A specimen at MEL labelled 'Wimmera' doubtfully originated from that area.
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
