Setaria australiensis

Setaria australiensis (Scribn. & Merrill) Vickery. Contr. New South Wales Natl. Herb. 1: 335 (1950).

Classification. (GPWG 2001) : Subfamily Panicoideae. Paniceae.

Basionym and/or Replacement Name: Chaetochloa australiensis Scribn. & Merr., Bull. Div. Agrostol., U.S.D.A. 21: 29 (1900).

Type of Basionym or Protologue Information: HT: S.M. Tracy s.n., 1889, Australia (US-978063).

Key references (books and floras): [2002] D.Sharp & B.K.Simon, AusGrass, Grasses of Australia, [2008] S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Walley & D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses of New South Wales (368).

Illustrations: [2008] S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Whalley & D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses of New South Wales, 4th edn (368).

Habit. Perennial. Rhizomes present, short. Culms erect, 60–210 cm tall, 3–6 mm diam., 6 -noded. Mid-culm nodes glabrous. Lateral branches simple or sparsely branched. Ligule a fringe of hairs, 2–3 mm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate, flat, 10–35 cm long, 5–23 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous or scabrous, glabrous or indumented.

Inflorescence. Inflorescence solid, a panicle. Panicle linear or lanceolate, 6–20 cm long, 1.5–2 cm wide.

Spikelets. Spikelets pedicelled, 1 in the cluster. Involucre composed of bristles. Fertile spikelets 2-flowered, the lower floret barren (rarely male), the upper fertile, comprising 1 basal sterile florets, comprising 1 fertile floret(s), without rachilla extension, elliptic or ovate, dorsally compressed, 3–4 mm long.

Glumes. Glumes thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate, membranous, without keels, 3–5 -nerved. Upper glume ovate, 2.5–3.1 mm long, membranous, without keels, 7–11 -nerved. Florets. Basal sterile florets 1, male or barren, with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret 100 % of length of spikelet, membranous, 5–7 -nerved.

Fertile lemma 3–4 mm long, without keel. Lemma apex mucronate. Anthers 3. Grain 2.25 mm long.

Continental Distribution: Australasia.

Australian Distribution: Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales.

Northern Territory: Darwin & Gulf. Queensland: Burke, Burnett, Cook, Darling Downs, Leichhardt, Maranoa, Mitchell, Moreton, North Kennedy, Port Curtis, South Kennedy, Wide Bay. New South Wales: North Coast.

Notes. In tropical heaths, Brigalow forests, tropical and subtropical sub-humid woodlands, and semi-arid shrub woodlands. Flowers Mar.-Sept.