Common name: English Couch, Quick Grass, Twitch Grass
Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex Nevski APNI* Synonyms: Elymus repens (L.) Gould APNI*
Triticum repens L. APNI*
Agropyron repens (L.) P.Beauv. APNI*
Description: Glabrous perennial to 1 m high, with long, branching, yellow or straw-coloured rhizomes; culms erect or bent below.
Leaves with ligule membranous c. 1 mm long; blade usually stiff, 2–7 mm wide, with short auricles.
Spike narrow, rather dense, 5–20 cm long. Spikelets 4–8-flowered, 10–20 mm long, oblong-elliptic, falling entire at maturity, alternating on opposite sides of the rachis. Glumes acute to acuminate, equal, 7–12 mm long, smooth or rough on the 3–7 nerves. Lemmas 8–13 mm long, acute to obtuse, 5-nerved, keeled in the upper part. Paleas with 2 ciliate keels. Anthers 3.5–6 mm long.
Flowering: summer.
Distribution and occurrence: A lawn grass widely planted in cool-temp. areas, but it becomes a troublesome weed and has spread all over the world. Native of Eurasia.
NSW subdivisions: *SC, *NT, *CT, *ST, *CWS, *SWS, *SWP
Other Australian states: *Vic. *Tas. *W.A. *S.A.
Text by S.W.L. Jacobs & S.M. Hastings, Flora of New South Wales Vol. 4 (1993)
Taxon concept: Australian Plant Census (accessed March 2017)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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