Ancistrachne maidenii is a grass (in the family Poaceae) endemic to New South Wales.[4]

Ancistrachne maidenii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Ancistrachne
Species:
A. maidenii
Binomial name
Ancistrachne maidenii
Synonyms[3]

Eriochloa maidenii A.A.Ham.

It is a scrambling perennial grass with slender, rigid horizontal stems and branches which ascend.[4][5]

The leaves have sheathes which are sparsely hairy and the ligule is fringed. The racemes are terminal or axillary, and about 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long, with the lateral racemes being shorter and partially enclosed by the sheath. When mature the spikelets (2.5–3 mm long ) fall entirely. The upper glume has five nerves. The lower lemma (similar to the upper glume), has seven nerves and is sterile. The fertile florets are elliptic to lanceolate, with nerves which are obscure. It flowers in summer, and grows on sandstone soils, north of Sydney.[4]

The species was first described as Eriochloa maidenii by the botanist Arthur Hamilton in 1913,[6][2] and in 1961 Joyce Vickery revised it to Ancistrachne maidenii.[2][1] The specific epithet honours Joseph Maiden,[6]

In New South Wales, this species is listed as "threatened".[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Vickery, J.W. in Anderson, R.H. (ed.) (1961) Contributions to the taxonomy of Australian grasses. II. Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium 3(2): 83 (actually 76)(
  2. ^ a b c "Ancistrachne maidenii". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. ^ "Ancistrachne maidenii (A.A.Ham.) Vickery | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Ancistrachne maidenii R.Br". PlantNET – FloraOnline. National Herbarium of NSW. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Ancistrachne maidenii - profile | NSW Environment, Energy and Science". www.environment.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  6. ^ a b Hamilton, A.A. (1913) A new Species of Eriochloa from the Hawkesbury River. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 37(4): 709
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