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