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Austrostipa scabra (Lindl.) S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett

Common name
Spear Grass
Rough Speargrass
Slender Speargrass
Delicate Speargrass

Derivation
Austrostipa S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett, Telopea 6: 582 (1996); from the Latin austro (south or southern) and Stipa (the name of a related genus), referring to the Australian distribution of the species.

scabra- from Latin scabra (rough or gritty to the touch). Plants with rough leaf-blades, spikelets or stems.

Published in
Telopea 6: 588 (1996).

Common synonyms
Stipa scabra Lindl.
Stipa scabra Lindl. subsp. falcata (Hughes) Vickery, S.W.L. Jacobs & J. Everett
Stipa scabra Lindl. subsp. scabra


Habit
Perennial. Culms 30–60 cm high, Perennial, tufted. Cataphylls present. Culms 30–60 cm tall, compressible. Mid-culm internodes glabrous. Mid-culm nodes glabrous. Lateral branches simple. Leaf-sheaths smooth or scaberulous. Ligule an eciliate membrane, 0.3–5 mm long, membranous, bilobed, truncate. Leaf-blades conduplicate or involute or convolute, 0.7–2 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scabrous, glabrous or puberulous.

Inflorescence
Inflorescence compound, a panicle or a panicle, exserted or embraced at base by subtending leaf. Panicle open or contracted, linear, 15–30 cm long. Primary panicle branches appressed, 3–5 cm long. Panicle branches capillary.

Spikelets
Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets 1-flowered, comprising 1 fertile floret, without rhachilla extension, lanceolate, terete, 8–10 mm long, breaking up at maturity. Spikelets disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus evident, 1–1.5 mm long, bearded, acute.

Glumes
Glumes persistent, similar, thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate, 8–10(–15) mm long, equalling upper glume, hyaline, 3-nerved. Lower glume apex acute or acuminate. Upper glume lanceolate, 6–13 mm long, hyaline, 3–5-nerved. Upper glume apex acute or acuminate.

Florets
Fertile lemma lanceolate, subterete, 4–5 mm long, coriaceous. Lemma surface smooth or granulose or scabrous, puberulous. Lemma margins convolute, covering most of palea. Lemma apex lobed, with lobes 0.2–0.25(–0.5) mm long, without appendage or surmounted by an obscure coma of hairs, sometimes barely discernable from the general lemma indumentum, with this appendage 0.1–0.6 mm long, 1-awned. Median (principal) awn geniculate or bigeniculate, 30–70 mm long overall, with a twisted column. Column 5.5–15 mm long, scabrous, glabrous, with 0.1–0.2(–0.3) mm long hairs. Palea 100% of length of lemma, without keels. Stigmas 2. Grain 2.5–4.5 mm long.


Continental Distribution:
Australasia, Pacific.

Australian Distribution:
Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania.

Western Australia: Giles, Helms, Austin, Eucla, Roe, Coolgardie. Northern Territory: Central Australia South. South Australia: North-western, Lake Eyre, Nullabor, Gairdner-Torrens Basin, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South-eastern. Queensland: Leichhardt, Burnett, Darling Downs, Maranoa, Moreton, Warrego. New South Wales: North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast, Northern Tablelands, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, North-Western Slopes, Central-Western Slopes, South-Western Slopes, North-Western Plains, South-Western Plains, South Far Western Plains, North Far Western Plains. Victoria: Murray Mallee, Lowan Mallee, Wimmera, Wannon, Grampians, Riverina, Midlands, Victorian Volcanic Plain, Eastern Highlands, Gippsland Plains, East Gippsland. Tasmania: East Coast.

Classification. (GPWG 2001):
Pooideae: Stipeae

Notes
Native. A widespread species occurring in all States and the Northern Territory. Two subspecies are recognised, with geographic distributions predominantly in different areas, but with extensive overlap.


Inflorescence narrow; ligules 0.6–1mm long A. scabra subsp. scabra (NSW VIC TAS NT SA WA QLD)
Stipa scabra subsp. scabra
Inflorescence spreading; ligules 0.3–-0.6mm long A. scabra subsp. falcata (NSW VIC TAS NT SA WA QLD)
Stipa falcata, Stipa scabra subsp. falcata

Austrostipa scabra (Lindl.) S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett subsp. scabra
Widespread through southern Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia; extending into Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory. Most abundant in the summer rainfall region.

Austrostipa scabra subsp. falcata (Hughes) S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett
Mainly Tableland and southern areas of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, just getting into southern Queensland. Most abundant in the winter rainfall region.


Images
Illustrations available:
Habit (photo)
Inflorescence (photo)
Inflorescence (photo)
Spikelet (line drawing)
Spikelet, Austrostipa scabra subsp. falcata (line drawing)
Australian distribution
Australian distribution subsp. falcata
Australian distribution subsp. scabra



Habit (photo)
© S. Jacobs


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Inflorescence (photo)
© M.Fagg


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Inflorescence (photo)
© Queensland Herbarium
Courtesy of the Toowoomba Field Naturalist Club


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Spikelet (line drawing)
© Australian Biological Resources Study
drawing by Lesley Elkan and Nicola Oram


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Spikelet, Austrostipa scabra subsp. falcata (line drawing)
© Australian Biological Resources Study
drawing by Lesley Elkan and Nicola Oram


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Australian Distribution
© ABRS
Austrostipa scabra


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Australian Distribution
© ABRS
Austrostipa scabra subsp. falcata


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Australian Distribution
© ABRS
Austrostipa scabra subsp. scabra


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