Nardus stricta

Plants tough, densely caespitose, with short rhizome. Culm 10–40 (–60) cm high, erect, wiry, unbranched, ribbed; nodes 1(–2)-towards the base, pubescent; internodes glabrous, or minutely hairy or scabrous. Leaves mostly basal; leaf-sheath coriaceous, strongly ribbed, glabrous, glossy, pale greyish brown or creamy. Ligule 0.5–1(–2) mm long. Leaves blades greyish-green or green; leaf-blade 5–20 cm long, c. 0.5 mm diam., tightly involute, rigid, pungent, abaxially smooth, or with minute prickle-teeth or hairs beside ribs, adaxially minutely papillose on ribs. Spike 3–8 cm long, rachis concave-convex in T.S., smooth but margins finely scabrous, terminating into a fine scabrous bristle 2–10 mm long. Spikelets 5–10.5 mm long, green or usually purplish. Lower glume 0.3–0.6 mm long, ± triangular, sometimes short-ciliate wedge, the upper glume (when present) smaller. Lemma 5–7 mm long, narrow-lanceolate or lanceolate-oblong, lateral nerves and awn minutely scabrous, margins hyaline, infolded from the lateral nerves and enveloping the pale, the awn 1.6–3 mm long. Palea 4–6 mm long, linear to lorate, membranous, hyaline, apex rounded and very short-ciliate, 2-nerved. Anthers 3.5–4 mm long and fertile, or mostly 1–2 mm and pollenless. Caryopsis 3–4 mm long, 0.5 mm diam., narrow-fusiform, falling with the hardened palea and lemma. Flowers in Summer.