Notochloë Feddes Rep. 10: 117 (1911).
Derivation:. From the Greek notos (south) and chloë (grass), referring to its occurrence in the southern hemisphere.
Key references (keys and floras):. B.K.Simon, Key to Australian Grasses 134 (1993); S.W.L.Jacobs and K.L.McClay, Flora of New South Wales 4: 616 (1993); K.Mallet (ed.), Flora of Australia 44B: Poaceae 3: 34 (2005); S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Whalley & D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses of New South Wales, 4th ed, 306–307 (2008). W.D.Clayton & S.A.Renvoize, Genera Graminum (1986), genus (260). Native, endemic. 1 species. NSW.
Habit. Perennial, tufted. Leaf blades narrow. Ligule a fringe of hairs.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence paniculate (short).
Spikelets. Spikelets laterally compressed, pedicelled; with naked rachilla extension, or with rachilla terminating in a floret. Fertile spikelets green, laterally compressed, disarticulating above glumes.
Glumes. Glumes unequal, shorter than spikelet, (the longer) shorter than adjacent lemmas, hairless, glabrous, pointed (acute), awnless, keeled. Lower glume 3 nerved. Upper glume 5 nerved.
Florets. Fertile florets 7–14. Lemmas glabrous, similar in texture to glumes (thinly leathery), incised, not deeply cleft (shortly 3-toothed), mucronate (the teeth with minute terminal mucros), 5–7 nerved (and ridged), not keeled. Awns much longer than body of lemma. Palea relatively long, apically notched, thinner than lemma, 2 nerved, 2 keeled, glabrous. Palea keels wingless, scabrous. Callus short, blunt. Lodicules 2. Stamens 3. Stigmas 2. Disseminule a caryopsis enclosed in but free of lemma and palea. Grain small, golden-brown, narrowly obovate, compressed dorsiventrally, glabrous. Hilum long-linear. Embryo small (exactly one-third of grain length).
Kranz Anatomy. C3.
Habitat. Helophytic.
Classification. Danthonioideae.
Notes. A rare but unremarkable Triodia-like genus (Clayton and Renvoize, 1986). A member of the Danthonia clade (Danthonia, Notochloë, Plinthanthesis and New Zealand Cortaderia) of the danthonioid grasses (Barker, Morton & Linder, 2000).
Types Species. N. microdon (Benth.) Domin.
Biogeographic Element. Clifford & Simon 1981, Simon & Jacobs 1990: Endemic.