Entolasia stricta
(R.Br.) HughesShortly rhizomatous perennial. Stems mostly erect, often many-branched, finely scabrous, to c. 80 cm high. Leaves glabrous or with tubercle-based hairs; blade 5–10 cm long, 1–7 mm wide; ligule 0.5–1 mm long. Panicle 2–12 cm long, primary branches appressed, usually under 2 cm long. Spikelet 2.2–3.5 mm long; lower glume indistinctly 1-nerved, broadly to narrowly ovate, 0.6–1.2 mm long; upper glume 5–7-nerved, subequal or equal to spikelet; lower lemma equal to upper glume; fertile lemma elliptic, equal or very slightly shorter than lower lemma, covered with appressed white hairs, firmer than other segments but not hard; palea subequal to fertile lemma, and similarly hairy. Flowers Sep.–Mar.
GipP, CVU, NIS, EGL, EGU, WPro, HSF. Also Qld, NSW. Occurs mostly on sandy, rocky or peaty soils mostly from Bairnsdale eastward (e.g. Mitchell River and Snowy River gorges, Marlo Plains, Mallacoota), with disjunct western occurrences near Frankston and Stradbroke.
The distinction between E. marginata and E. stricta is by no means always clear. The characters used by Brown (1810) to distinguish the species (as Panicum spp.) were based principally on growth form. Later treatments have emphasized the relatively shorter fertile lemma for E. marginata. Both sets of characters appear to be somewhat continuous or variable and may be expressions of different environmental factors. In the absence of a detailed investigation into the distinctness of the taxa, a more reasonable approach may be that of Bentham (1878) in recognizing the two as varieties. The appropriate combinations under Entolasia, however, have yet to be made, so the names are here retained as species.
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