Chionochloa rigida (Raoul) Zotov

Tall, stout, golden tussock with hairy fracturing sheaths and narrow, sweeping, long, deciduous leaves which form a dense litter. Leaf-sheath to 30 cm, dark brown below, keeled, interribs with abundant long and/or short hairs occasionally forming a contra-ligule, fragmenting into short segments, apical tuft of hairs to 2 mm. Ligule to 2 mm. Leaf-blade tough, flat or shallowly U-shaped, adaxially usually with dense weft of short or long hairs at base, abundant prickle-teeth above; margin thick, long hairy below; falling with part of sheath. Culm to 1.5 m, internodes infrequently long hairy; sheath hairy. Inflorescence open, pulvinate. Spikelets of up to 8 florets. Glumes glabrous, acute or very shortly awned, ≥ nearest lemma lobes; lower to 14 mm, 1–3-nerved, upper to 16 mm, 5–7-nerved, very occasionally long hairy on margin below. Lemma densely hairy on margin and in all internerves, hairs rarely absent, > sinus. Palea to 8.5 mm. Callus to 1.5 mm, hairs to 3.5 mm. Rachilla to 1.5 mm. Lodicules to 0.75 mm. Gynoecium: ovary to 1 mm; stigma-styles to 3 mm. Caryopsis to 3.5 mm. 2n= 42. Fig. 16.

[From: Edgar and Connor (2000) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 5 (second printing).]