Aristida calycina

Aristida calycina, commonly known as dark wiregrass,[1] is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is native in Australia.

Dark wiregrass
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Aristida
Species:
A. calycina
Binomial name
Aristida calycina
Aristida calycina flat spikelet

Description

The grass-like or herbaceous perennial plant has a compact or loosely tufted habit and typically grows to a height of 0.3 to 2 m (1 ft 0 in to 6 ft 7 in).[1][2] It is strongly branched and has wiry culms. The leaves have smooth or scaberulous sheaths with a ligule that is approximately 0.3 mm (0.012 in) in length. The blade is convolute or conduplicate or sometimes but in some cases is flat with a width of around 1.5 mm (0.059 in). It has lanceolate shaped glumes that are 6 to 20 mm (0.24 to 0.79 in) in length with the upper portion being obtuse and the lower part acute to acuminate. The linear to elliptic lemma is purple or brown in colour with even darker margins and 6 to 9 mm (0.24 to 0.35 in) in length. The divergent flattened awns have a length of up to 30 mm (1.2 in).[2]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Robert Brown in 1810 as part of the work Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805. Synonyms include Aristida glumaris, Chaetaria calicina and Aristida calycina var. typica.[3]

There are three varieties of this species:

  • Aristida calycina R.Br. var. calycina[4]
  • Aristida calycina var. filifolia B.K.Simon[5]
  • Aristida calycina var. praealta Domin[6]

Distribution

Aristida calycina is found mostly in the eastern states of mainland Australia, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and parts of the Northern Territory with a scattered distribution that thins toward the west.[3] In New South Wales it is found in all areas apart from the far south west and grows in sandy poor soils.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Aristida calycina". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  2. "Aristida calycina R.Br". PlantNet. Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  3. "Aristida calycina R.Br". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  4. "Aristida calycina". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  5. "Aristida calycina var. filifolia B.K.Simon". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  6. "Aristida calycina var. praealta Domin". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.