1. | Inflorescence contracted, the spikelets pedicelled | 2 |
Inflorescence compact, the spikelets sessile or subsessile | 11 | |
2. | Leaf blades muticous, without a distinct spine | 3 |
Leaf blades apex a pungent spine 0.5-1.5mm long | 9 | |
3. | Lemma with 6-9 ribbed nerves; palea 5-7-nerved, entire; culms usually ribbed, pallid | M. subulifolia (QLD) |
Lemma with 1-4 ribs or faint nerves; palea usually nerveless, divided into 2 equal parts; culms usually smooth, brown | 4 | |
4. | Midnerve of glume prolonged into a terete spine 0.2-0.5 mm long | M. spinifera (NT) |
Glume muticous or mucronulate, without a distinct spine | 5 | |
5. 6. |
Plant viscid; leaf sheaths hairy on surface | M. viscidula (NT) |
Plant not viscid; leaf sheaths hairy about the mouth or glabrous | 6 | |
Glumes strongly 3-5-nerved | M. sp. A Purnlulu (NT WA) | |
Glumes with 1 strong nerve | 7 | |
7. | Lemma strongly 3-nerved; caryopsis smooth | M. dunlopii (NT WA) |
Lemma 0-4-nerved, nerves often faint when more than 1; caryopsis striate or wrinkled | 8 | |
8. | Leaf blades c. 0.3mm wide, 1-nerved; panicle 20-30 x 20-40mm, usually eglandular; ligule hairs usually 0.5-1.3mm long | M. tenuis (NT) |
Leaf blades 0.5-1.5mm wide, 5-7-nerved; panicle 10-15 x 7-15mm, glandular; ligule hairs 0.3-0.5mm long | M. adamsii (NT) | |
9. | Lemma 5-7-nerved; palea 4-nerved; leaf blade mostly coriaceous to indurated and glabrous, cartilaginous and hairy near ligule, minutely scaberulous or smooth on margins | M. multinervia (NT) |
Lemma 1-3-nerved; palea nerveless; leaf blade uniform in texture, glabrous, spiny-scabrous on margins | 10 | |
10. | Glumes ovate-oblong, usually subacute to obtuse; lemma ovate, obtuse, entire, 1-3-nerved; panicle prominently exserted, glandular on divisions; leaf sheath 7-9-nerved | M. pungens (NT) |
Glumes broadly oblong, truncate; lemma oblong, obtuse to truncate; panicle shortly exserted, eglandular; leaf sheath 11-13-nerved | M. dentata (NT) | |
11. | Spike exserted above the upper leaves | 12 |
Spike shorter than, and obscured by, the upper leaves | 14 | |
12. | Glumes with an apical flattened spine c. 0.5 mm long; leaf sheath abruptly narrowed at junction with blade | M. compacta (NT) |
Glumes muticous; leaf sheath of similar width to blade at their junction | 13 | |
13. 14. |
Peduncle glabrous, glandular; florets c. 1/2 as long as glumes; glumes oblong, obtuse, glabrous | M. spiciforma (NT WA) |
Peduncle pilose to hirsute, eglandular; florets c. 1/3 as long as glumes; glumes ovate, subacute, pilose | M. subspicata (NT) | |
Spikelets exserted above the upper leaves | M. brevis (WA) | |
Spikelets shorter then ther upper leaves | 15 | |
15. | Leaf blades 5-6mm long; glumes apex entire, scaberulous | M. inserta (NT) |
Leaf blades 1.8-3.7mm long; glumes apex emarginate, ciliate | M. lazaridis (WA) |
Key to Micraira derived from Lazarides 1979, 1985; Clark et al. 1995
Taxonomic name: