Spinifex L.

3 species native Aust.; all states and territories

Spinifex sericeus R.Br.

Plants dioecious. Spikelets unisexual, sessile, disarticulating below the glumes. Male spikelets 2-flowered, in spikes which are clustered into groups of 4 or 5 or 6; glumes 5–6 mm long; lemmas c. 8 mm long. Male spikes 2–4 cm long, subtended by bracts 5–6 cm long (including the subulate tips). Female spikelets 12–15 mm long, very numerous, in a large dense globular head; each spikelet solitary at the base of the spine-like rhachis which protrudes beyond the spikelets and is 10–12 cm long; subtending bract 2–3 cm long. Hirsute or scabrous perennial with stout rhizomes and stolons extending for several metres over sand. Leaves silvery-silky; ligules of hairs. Coast. Sand dunes. Fl. summer. Hairy Spinifex