Austrostipa bigeniculata (Hughes) S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett

Tall, erect, fine, perennial tussock, shoots very close set, slightly swollen at base; branching extravaginal; cataphylls hairy. Leaf-sheath to 10 cm, thin, very shortly retrorse pilose, occasionally with some long hairs. Ligule 0.2 mm, ciliate. Leaf-blade to 25 cm × 1 mm diam., stiff, weakly rolled, ribs few, abaxially finely retrorsely scabrid from columns of small prickle-teeth between ribs, abundant prickle-teeth adaxially and some few long hairs; margins with antrorse prickle-teeth and occasional long (1 mm) hairs. Culm to 60 cm, nodes retrorsely pilose, internodes below nodes densely retrorse-pilose, elsewhere sparsely scabrid. Panicle to 30 cm, narrow, subtended by tuft of hairs to 1.5 mm; branches short; rachis, branches and pedicels short stiff hairy. Glumes unequal, purple fading brown below, produced into hyaline awn-like processes to 2 mm, scabrid on nerves and above, > awn column; lower to 20 mm, 3-nerved, upper to 14 mm, 5-nerved. Lemma to 7 mm, clothed in dense white hairs, lobes minute (0.1 mm) ciliate; coma to 2 mm; awn to 50 mm, 1-geniculate, column to 10 mm tightly twisted, short hairy, arista to 40 mm. Palea weakly 2-nerved, internerve hairs few, apex ciliate. Callus to 2 mm, hairs to 3 mm. Lodicules 3, ligulate or emarginate, posterior and anterior equal, to 1.3 mm, or posterior shorter. Anthers to 4 mm, penicillate.

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