Flora of Victoria

Shortly rhizomatous perennial, culms branched, decumbent, to 2 m long, nodes apparent, glabrous. Leaves glabrous; blade flat or inrolled, to 12 cm long and 4 mm broad; ligule glabrous, truncate, often torn at apex, 2–7 mm long. Inflorescence a widely spreading, pyramidal panicle, to 25 cm long; panicle branches plumose with spreading silky hairs 1.5–3 mm long. Glumes 7–13 mm long, glumes purplish, sub-equal, pilose along the nerves; lemma 5–9 mm long, pale to dark brown at maturity, tuberculate, with short white hairs about the callus, otherwise glabrous or very sparsely hairy toward the apex; coma absent or very sparse, with hairs to 0.5 mm long; callus 0.5–1 mm long; awn once or twice bent, 30–50 mm long, the straight part 5–13 mm long, shortly pubescent; palea up to about one-half as long as lemma and thinly membranous, glabrous. Flowers Sep.–Nov.

CVU, DunT, GipP, Gold, GGr, LoM, MuF, MuM, MSB, NIS, RobP, VRiv, VVP, Wim. Scattered and locally common usually in mallee, dry-open woodland, and grassland communities from Mildura district to near Bendigo, east to Nathalia and Violet Town, with disjunct occurrences near Yalla-Y-Poora, Bacchus Marsh, Little River, Western Treatment Plant, Frankston etc. Occurs on a variety of substrates including granitic, shaly or calcareous cliffs, limestone-rich mallee soils, deep sand and saline flats, and Quaternary basalt derived soils, mostly in areas of low effective rainfall.

Source: Walsh, N.G. (1994). Poaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J. (eds), Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons. Inkata Press, Melbourne (as Stipa elegantissima Labill.).

Updated by: Val Stajsic, 2017-11-16

life Life

kingdom Plantae

phylum Tracheophyta

class Magnoliopsida

superorder Lilianae

order Poales

family Poaceae

genus Austrostipa

Higher taxa

species Austrostipa elegantissima (Labill.) S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett

Synonyms

Stipa elegantissima Labill.

Victoria

**Source:** AVH (2014). *Australia's Virtual Herbarium*, Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, <http://avh.chah.org.au>. Find Austrostipa elegantissima in AVH ; *Victorian Biodiversity Atlas*, © The State of Victoria, Department of Environment and Primary Industries (published Dec. 2014) Find Austrostipa elegantissima in Victorian Biodiversity Atlas

Bioregion	Occurrence status	Establishment means
Lowan Mallee	present	native
Murray Mallee	present	native
Wimmera	present	native
Victorian Volcanic Plain	present	native
Victorian Riverina	present	native
Murray Scroll Belt	present	native
Robinvale Plains	present	native
Murray Fans	present	native
Gippsland Plain	present	native
Goldfields	present	native
Central Victorian Uplands	present	native
Greater Grampians	present	native
Dundas Tablelands	present	native
Northern Inland Slopes	present	native

Bioregions of Victoria

State distribution

State
Western Australia
Northern Territory
South Australia
New South Wales
Australian Capital Territory
Victoria