Plicate Sweet Grass

Plicate Sweet-grass is a common European species at the limit of its range in Karachi, the only known locality in Pakistan. In Europe, where it flowers from June until August, its lush foliage is considered good fodder.

Tufted perennial; culms 30-80 (-100) cm high, ascending from a prostrate base, rooting at the lower nodes. Leaf-blades flat or folded, 5-30 cm long, 3-14 mm wide, acuminate, dark- to bluish-green; ligule 2-8 mm long. Panicle broadly oblong, 10-40 cm long, loose, the branches suberect at first, finally widely spreading. Spikelets linear-oblong, 10-25 mm long, 7-16-flowered, greyish-green or purplish; glumes ovate, very obtuse, the lower 1.5-2.3 mm long, the upper 2.5-4 mm long; lemma 3.5-45 mm long, broadly elliptical, very obtuse, usually slightly crenulate at the tip, with 7 equally prominent, scabridulous nerves; palea keels winged above.

Distribution: Pakistan (Sind); widespread in Europe; Southwest Asia and North Africa.