Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Erect, cespitose perennials.

Stems: Culms (stems) solitary or a few clustered together, 15–30 cm tall, glabrous.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades, linear, usually 5–10 cm long, 1–2 mm wide near base. Apex acuminate. Surfaces scabrous. Margins often becoming involute upon drying. Veins parallel. Sheaths with margins overlapping, glabrous; ligule membranous, 2–3 mm long, margins erose, apex rounded to acute. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences paniculate, terminal, cylindrical, 8–12 cm long, often not fully emergent from the subtending sheath, the branches stiffly ascending and closely appressed to the rachis, clothed with spikelets from apex to base, glabrous to densely scabrous. Spikelets numerous, slightly laterally compressed, occurring only on upper ⅔ of branches, rachilla vestigial, apex modified into a set of bristles, callus laterally subtended by a small tuft of hairs on each side; glumes 2, often tinged purple, 3–4.5 mm long, unequal, entirely enclosing the floret, scabrous on and near the midrib, glabrous toward margins, second glume 0.5–1 mm shorter than first glume, distinctly keeled and scabrous, surface glabrous to distinctly scabrous, nerves obscure, apex acuminate; lemma chartaceous to membranous, 2–3 mm long, 7–nerved, the central nerve separating ca. ⅓ above base as an awn, the awn 0.5–2.5 mm long, slightly geniculate, usually not exceeding apex of lemma, marginal nerves not always extending to apex, glabrous, scabrous on upper ½ of lemma where nerves are raised, callus subtended by a tuft of hairs on either side of base of lemma margin, apex rounded to acute, usually 4 nerves prolonged as short teeth, awn geniculate, 3–4 mm long, slightly scabrous; palea vestigial, present as a membranous flap ca. 0.5 mm long. Stamens 3. Ovary superior.

Fruit: Caryopsis brown; cylindrical; 1–1.5 mm long; 0.1–0.3 mm wide.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring primarily in dry; well–drained areas such as subalpine cinder fields; but also reported from O'ahu by Hillebrand (1888); occurring also in open bogs on Pu'ukukui and Mt. Eke; Maui.

Elevation Range: (550–)1,190–3,540 m.