Lepidosperma gladiatum Labill. APNI* 
Description: Clump-forming perennial with stout vertical rhizome. Culms rigid, erect, with central biconvex ridge and margins flat or concavo-convex, striate, glabrous, smooth, 45–100 cm high, (5-)7–20 mm wide; margins smooth.
Leaves similar in form to culms but less strongly biconvex, as long as or exceeding culms, 8–16 mm wide; sheath straw-coloured to dark yellow-brown or grey-brown basally, not viscid, shining.
Inflorescence ovate or oblong in outline, erect, dense, 4–18 cm long, 3–7 cm diam.; involucral bract shorter than inflorescence. Spikelets numerous, clustered, 6–8 mm long. Glumes 5–7, puberulous, red-brown; lowest 3 or 4 glumes empty, about half as long as fertile glumes, obtuse to broad-acute; fertile 6–7 mm long, acute, mucronate. Scales 6, quarter to half the length of nut, whitish to yellowish. Anthers 3.0–4.5 mm long, excluding appendage 0.3–0.7 mm long.
Nut narrow-ovoid, 3.0–4.0 mm long, 1.5–2.0 mm diam., pale to dark brown, smooth or wrinkled, shining.
Flowering: Spring–summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows south from Kioloa. Grows on coastal dunes and headlands in sandy soils.
NSW subdivisions: SC
Other Australian states: Vic. Tas. W.A. S.A.
Text by K. L. Wilson
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)
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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