Common name: Swamp Foxtail
Cenchrus purpurascens Thunb. APNI* Synonyms: Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng. APNI* Pennisetum compressum R.Br. APNI* Panicum alopecuroides L. APNI* Alopecurus hordeiformis L. APNI*
Description: Tufted perennial to 1 m high.
Leaves with ligule densely shortly ciliate; blade flat to involute, to 6 mm wide, margins hairy, scabrous on the nerves.
Panicle spike-like, cylindrical, dense, 7–20 cm long, involucres spreading, bristles 10–45, unequal, inner 2–5 times longer than spikelets; outer finer, about as long as spikelet. Spikelets solitary, rarely paired, 6–8 mm long. Lower glume 1–1.25 mm long, nerveless; upper 30–50% spikelet length, 5–7-nerved. Lower lemma sterile, as long as spikelet, 7-nerved; palea suppressed. Upper lemma bisexual, similar to lower lemma, 5–7-nerved; palea shorter than lemma.
Flowering: summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Usually grows on flats below watercourses and in boggy areas.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, SC, NT, CT, ST, NWS, CWS, SWS, SWP
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. Tas. S.A. W.A.
Text by S.W.L. Jacobs & S.M. Hastings, as Pennisetum alopecuroides, fide Flora of NSW 4 (1993) Taxon concept: Australian Plant Census (CHAH 2011); updated Louisa Murray 6 Dec 2016 - APC
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