Citation: Vign. ex Janchen, Mitt. Naturw. Ver. Univ. Wien 5, 9:110 (1907).

Synonymy: Poa cilianensis All., Fl. Ped. 2:246 (1785); E. major Host, Icon. Descr. Gram. Aust. 4:14 (1809); P. megastachya Koel., Descr. Gram. 181 (1802); E. megastachya (Koel.) Link, Hort. bot. Berol. 1:187 (1827).

Common name: Stinkgrass.

Description:
Annual 12-90 cm high, often aromatic; culms geniculate and branched at the lower nodes or erect, often grooved along one side, 3- or 4-noded, usually with a glandular ring or cluster close below the nodes; nodes often purple-black; leaves with pit-like or warty glands especially on the mid-nerve and margins; blades up to 20 cm x 4-8 mm, mostly flat, often pilose near the ligule, tapered to an extremely fine apex.

Panicle 4-30 x 1.5-10 cm, open or dense, ovate to oblong, usually with pit-like or warty glands on the axis, branches and pedicels; axils with prominent usually bearded pulvini; primary branches up to 7 cm long, spikelet-bearing throughout; spikelets 6-18 x 2-4 (rarely 3-30) mm, loosely 12-32 (rarely 5-60) flowered, ovate to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, often olive-green; rhachilla persistent, internodes c. 0.5 mm long; glumes cartilaginous, boat-shaped, acute or obtuse, usually scaberulous on the surface and glandular-tubercled on the keel, 1.5-2.5 mm long, ovate or the lower lanceolate and narrower, 1-nerved or especially the upper 3-nerved; lemmas 2-2.5 mm long, cartilaginous, broadly ovate, obtuse, usually scabrous-papillose near the apex and margins, scabrous and sparsely tubercled-glandular on the keel, often glossy, sometimes gibbous or strongly curved in profile; palea elliptic, acute or subobtuse; keels scaberulous in the upper part with unequal hairs up to 0.2 mm long, strongly curved.

Grain globose or broadly elliptic.

Published illustration: Lazarides (1970) The grasses of Central Australia, pl. 36b; Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 98.

Distribution:  S.Aust.: NW, GT, FR, EA, EP, NL, MU, YP, SL, KI, SE.   All States.   Native to Europe, Africa and Asia. Conservation status: naturalised Flowering time: Dec. — May.

SA Distribution Map based on current data relating to specimens held in the State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Uses: Not considered to have any grazing value.

Author: Not yet available