Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) P.Beauv. ex J.Presl & C.Presl APNI* 
Description: Loosely tufted perennial to 1.5 m high; culms erect or slightly spreading.
Leaves with sheath smooth, or hairy at the nodes; ligule 1–3 mm long; blade 2–10 mm wide, sparsely pubescent and minutely scabrous on the margins.
Panicle lanceolate to oblong, erect or nodding, loose or rather dense, 10–30 cm long. Spikelets oblong or gaping, 2–4-flowered, 7–11 mm long. Glumes acute, the lower 1-nerved, shorter than the upper, the upper 3-nerved. Lemmas 7–10 mm long, usually hairy at the base, rounded on the back, firm except for the translucent margins, 5–9-nerved. Palea 2-keeled, narrow, hairy on the keels.
Distribution and occurrence: A weed of natural or man-made grasslands. Native of Eur. & Asia.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *SC, *NT, *CT, *ST, *NWS, *CWS, *SWS
Other Australian states: *Qld *Vic. *Tas. *S.A.
Text by S. W. L. Jacobs & S. M. Hastings
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the varieties | |
| 1 | Basal internodes not swollen; nodes usually glabrous | var. elatius |
| Basal internodes swollen and globose; nodes often hairy | var. bulbosum |
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***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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