Common Name

Kerosene Grass, Bunched Kerosene Grass, Bunched Windgrass; Windgrass; Silvergrass; Mulga Grass; Sand Speargrass; Sand Wiregrass

Family

Poaceae

Notes

Annual or perennial grass 12-50cm tall. Leaves with a smooth or rough sheath at the base. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaves 3-10cm long, less than 1mm wide, threadlike, rolled, folded together lengthwise, or with the edges rolled inwards, surface hairless to hairy, or rough. Spikelets purple to straw coloured, 12-30mm long, grain 3-4mm long. Mature seed groups cylindrical. Seeds with three long awns.

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 56

PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Aristida~contorta

ausgrass2 description, photos, and line drawings: http://ausgrass2.myspecies.info/content/aristida-contorta-1