Citation: Steudel, Synops. Pl. glumac. 1:279 (1854).

Synonymy: Poa tenellula Kunth, Rev. Gram. 1:113 (1829); E. tenella sensu Benth., Fl. Aust. 7:643 (1878), non (L.)P. Beauv. ex Roemer & Schultes; E. interrupta P. Beauv. var. tenuissima Stapfex Hook. f., Fl. Brit.lnd. 7:316 (1896); E. japonica sensu Jessop in J. Black, Fl. S. Aust. 197 (1978), non (Thunb.) Trin.

Common name: Delicate lovegrass.

Description:
Annual 6-15 (rarely to 96) cm high; culms erect or ascending or semiprostrate, simple or branched, 1-5-noded; leaves smooth or scaberulous; blades to 30 cm long, flat and to 6 mm wide or loosely convolute or involute, scaberulous on the upper surface and on the thickened white margins.

Panicle 6-15 (rarely to 50) x 1.5-5 (rarely to 10) cm, open, decompound, occupying a half to three-quarters the length of the plant, narrowly oblong to pyramidal, often drooping; axis often flattened or grooved along one side; primary branches usually 3-10 cm long, 1-3-nate, sometimes whorled, naked near the base or divided throughout; secondary branches up to 4 cm long; pedicels mostly 0.6-3 mm long; spikelets 2-4.7 x 0.9-2 mm, loosely 3-12-flowered, linear; rhachilla jointed, fragile, readily disarticulating downwards and the florets usually falling entire, straight or almost so; the internodes 0.2-0.4 mm long, widened upwards to a cup-shaped apex; glumes persistent, thinly membranous to hyaline, ovate, acute, scabrous on the keel, the lower 0.5-1.1 mm and the upper 0.7-1.3 mm long; lemmas 0.7-1.1 mm long, ovate, obtuse, scaberulous on the keel; palea spathulate, acute; keels mostly smooth (sparsely scaberulous in the upper part), distinctly shorter than the palea itself (sometimes only half as long); anthers 2.

Grain ellipsoid or narrowly ovoid-ellipsoid, subulate.

Published illustration: Lazarides (1970) The grasses of Central Australia, pl. 40a; Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 101.

Distribution:  S.Aust.: NW, LE, EA.   All mainland States.   Africa and Asia. Conservation status: native Flowering time: April and Aug.

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

Biology: No text

Uses: Not a significant species for grazing.

Author: Not yet available