Aristida jerichoensis var. subspinulifera

Loosely tufted perennial (perhaps annual in some conditions), culms erect, branched or simple, to c. 80 cm high; leaves mostly cauline, sheaths smooth and glabrous; blade flat, folded or inrolled, to 18 cm long and 2 mm wide when flattened, glabrous below (abaxially), shortly hispid above; ligule densely ciliate, c. 0.3 mm long. Inflorescence a slender panicle, to c. 15 cm long; glumes initially purplish, subequal, usually the upper slightly (to c. 1 mm) longer than the lower, narrowly acuminate or sometimes obtuse and shortly mucronate, 5–9 mm long, the lower glume usually persisting; lemma involute, narrow-cylindric, 5.5–7.5 mm long, glabrous except for short, white callus hairs, surface smooth except for tuberculate margins of at least the apical half of the ventral groove, pale or purplish with darker mottling; awn branches 10–18 mm long, the lateral pair shorter by 1–2 mm than the central one. Flowers through the year following rains.