Common name
Curly Mitchell Grass
Wheat Mitchell

Derivation
Astrebla F.Muell. ex Benth., Fl. Austral. 7: 602 (1878); from the Greek a (not) and streblos (twisted), in reference to the straight awns.

lappacea- from the Latin lappa (burr) and -acea (indicating resemblance). Lemmas shortly awned and overlapping.

Published in
Biblioth. Bot. 85: 372 (1915).

Common synonyms
Astrebla triticoides (Lindl.) F.Muell. ex Benth.

Habit
Perennial, tufted. Cataphylls present. Rhizomes short. Culms erect or decumbent, 30–90 cm tall. Lateral branches branched, arising from upper culm. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades 8–30 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, glaucous.

Inflorescence
Inflorescence solid, a raceme (spicate). Racemes 1–2, straight or arcuate, unilateral, 5–30 cm long, 5–13 mm wide. Rhachis flattened. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis, lax, 100% of their length apart, regular, 2-rowed.

Spikelets
Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets 2-flowered or many-flowered, comprising 2–6 fertile florets, with diminished florets at the apex, oblong, laterally compressed, 7–18 mm long, breaking up at maturity. Spikelets disarticulating above glumes but not between florets.

Glumes
Glumes persistent, dissimilar, thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate, 4.5–10 mm long, 66% length of upper glume, scarious, 1-keeled, 1–3(–7)-nerved. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate, 6.5–13 mm long, 120% of length of adjacent fertile lemma, scarious, 7–13-nerved. Upper glume apex acute.

Florets
Fertile lemma oblong, 2–4 mm long, 3–4 mm wide, coriaceous, much thinner above, 3-nerved (in the body). Lemma lateral nerves augmented by subsidiaries in lobes. Lemma surface pubescent. Lemma apex lobed, 3-fid, with outer lobes longer, incised 50% of lemma length, 1-awned. Median (principal) awn 4–14 mm long overall. Palea keels pubescent. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped. Anthers 3, 1.5–2 mm long. Hilum punctiform.

Continental Distribution:
Australasia.

Australian Distribution:
Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales.

Classification. (GPWG 2001):
Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae

Notes
Native. Occurs in inland areas of eastern Australia N of 36°S excluding Cape York Penin. and the channel country of SW Qld and NE S.A., with isolated reports from the Pilbara area of W.A. It is sparsely present in the SE corner of the N.T. Only localised, disjunct colonies of Astrebla lappacea occur in central Australia, mainly in gilgais and depressions on cracking clay soils with A. pectinata grasslands and Acacia cambagei (Gidgee). Astrebla lappacea dominates large areas in central and north-central Qld while in southern Qld and in N.S.W. it is sometimes locally dominant but more often mixed with A. pectinata and other grasses such as Panicum, Bothriochloa and Aristida. Flowers after rain.