Aristida gracilipes

Aristida gracilipes (Domin)Henrard. Meded.
Rijks. Herb. Leiden
54: 209 (1926).

Classification. (GPWG 2001) : Subfamily
Aristidoideae. Aristideae.

Basionym and/or
Replacement Name:
 Aristida vagans
var. gracilipes Domin, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 9: 551
(1911).

Type of Basionym or
Protologue Information
: HT: L. Leichhardt s.n., 11 Mar 1844,
Australia: New South Wales: Moreton Dist.: Cameron's Bush (K: IT: BR, BRI
(fragm. & photo ex K), BRI, MEL).

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
(128).

Illustrations:
[1983] J.C.Tothill & J.B.Hacker, Grasses of Southern Queensland
(104(20)), [2008] S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Whalley & D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses
of New South Wales
, 4th edn (128).

Derivation: L. gracilis,
slender; pes, foot. Pedicels slender.

Habit.
Perennial. Culms geniculately ascending, 60–115 cm tall. Mid-culm internodes
glabrous. Lateral branches branched or fastigiate. Leaf-sheaths smooth or
scaberulous, glabrous on surface. Ligule a fringe of hairs, 0.5 mm long.
Leaf-blades straight, conduplicate or involute or convolute, 4–8 cm long, 0.5
mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scabrous.

Inflorescence.
Inflorescence compound, a panicle. Panicle linear, 12–21 cm long, 1–3 cm wide.

Spikelets.
Spikelets pedicelled. Fertile spikelets 1-flowered, comprising 1 fertile
floret(s), without rachilla extension, lanceolate, terete, 8–11 mm long.

Glumes. Glumes
similar, thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate, membranous, keeled,
1-keeled, 1 -nerved. Lower glume apex mucronate. Upper glume lanceolate, 4–10
mm long, membranous, keeled, 1-keeled, 1 -nerved. Upper glume apex entire or
erose, mucronate.

Florets.
Fertile lemma 8–11 mm long, without keel, 3 -nerved. Lemma apex awned, 3
-awned. Median (principal) awn without a column. Lateral lemma awns present.
Palea without keels. Anthers 3. Grain 6–8 mm long.

Continental
Distribution
: Australasia.

Australian
Distribution
: Queensland, New South Wales.

Queensland:
Burnett, Cook, Darling Downs, Leichhardt, Maranoa, Mitchell, Moreton, North
Kennedy, Port Curtis, South Kennedy, Wide Bay. New South Wales: North
Coast.

Notes.
A. gracilipes has longer inflorescences without pulvini and has slightly
longer glumes than A. caput-medusae and A. vagans, and is loosely
tufted with bushy culms with many fine branches. Chapman (1991) is correct in
stating that Lazarides (1980) is wrong in treating this as a sp. nov. (actually
a nom. nov.) by Henrard as it is based on the same type as Domin's variety.

Mainly
south-eastern Queensland with one record from northern New South Wales; a few
other Queensland records. Acacia, brigalow (Acacia harpophylla), Eucalyptus
communities, and rainforest fringes, on clays, loams and sandy soils. Flowering
and fruiting all year but mainly January to July.

AVH 2011

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith