Paspalidium aversum Vickery. Contr.
New South Wales Natl. Herb. 1: 331 (1950).
Classification.
(GPWG 2001) : Subfamily Panicoideae. Paniceae.
Type of Basionym or
Protologue Information: Australia: New South Wales: Tamworth, 18 Feb 1941, T.
P. May s.n. (HT: NSW-8982).
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 (322).
Illustrations:
[1984] N.T.Burbidge. rev. S.W.L.Jacobs, Australian Grasses (201), [2008] S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Whalley
& D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses of New South Wales, 4th edn (322).
Habit.
Perennial. Rhizomes absent. Culms geniculately ascending or decumbent, stature
slender to delicate, 40–90 cm tall, compressible, 4–6 -noded. Mid-culm
internodes hollow, glabrous. Mid-culm nodes glabrous. Lateral branches sparsely
branched or branched. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Ligule a fringed
membrane, a ciliate membrane, 1 mm long. Leaf-blades 8–25 cm long, 3–9 mm wide.
Leaf-blade surface scabrous.
Inflorescence.
Inflorescence compound, a panicle of racemes. Racemes 5–10, appressed,
flexuous, 1–7 cm long, 3–5 mm wide, bearing 9–20 fertile spikelets on each.
Central inflorescence axis 9–30 cm long.
Spikelets.
Spikelets pedicelled. 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, 2.5–2.75 mm long.
Glumes.
Glumes thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblate, membranous, without
keels, 3–5 -nerved. Lower glume surface glabrous. Lower glume apex muticous or
mucronate. Upper glume oblong, 2.2–2.6 mm long, membranous, without keels, 5–7
-nerved. Florets. Basal sterile florets 1, barren, without significant
palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret 100 % of length of spikelet, membranous, 5
-nerved.
Fertile lemma 2.1–2.75
mm long, without keel. Lemma apex mucronate.
Continental
Distribution: Australasia.
Australian
Distribution: Queensland, New South Wales.
Queensland:
Burnett, Cook, Darling Downs, Moreton, Port Curtis, Warrego, Wide Bay, North
Kennedy, South Kennedy. New South Wales: North Coast, Central Coast,
South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, North-Western Slopes,
Central-Western Slopes, South-Western Slopes, North-Western Plains.
Notes.
The taxonomic relationship among P. aversum, P. distans, P. radiatum, P. disjunctum
and P. breviflorum is presently poorly understood and a critical
analysis of this group is needed. The characters used by Blake and Vickery
could not be consistently applied.
In tropical and
subtropical wet sclerophyll forests, temperate wet sclerophyll forests,
temperate sub-humid woodlands, and semi-arid shrub woodlands.
