Piptatherum miliaceum

1 Rice Millet, Many-flowered Millet Grass at Palmerston, ACT

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Identification history

Piptatherum miliaceum	7 Apr 2021	MichaelMulvaney
Piptatherum miliaceum	25 Mar 2021	MichaelBedingfield
Piptatherum milliaceum	24 Mar 2021	walter

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Significant sighting

MichaelBedingfield noted:

8 Apr 2021

The first record of this grass for Canberra Nature Map. We are quite interested in grasses which can be hard to photograph and don't get as much attention as some other plants.

User's notes

I think this is Piptatherum milliaceum (Rice Millet or Smilo Grass) The spikelet has a single floret. In young panicles the straight awn of the lemma is shed very easily so is not evident in the older panicles. It is reported to be naturalised in SE Australia but is not common in the ACT. This plant was apparently brought in to its present locality with soil that was dumped behind the houses at the edge of Palmerston ACT

5 comments

MichaelBedingfield wrote:

25 Mar 2021

Hi Walter, would you be able to take a specimen or part of the plant to the ANBG for verification?

walter wrote:

25 Mar 2021

Hi Michael
Certainly.
Thanks for correcting my spelling. Funny that "millet" has 2 l's but only one in "miliaceum" ?

walter wrote:

7 Apr 2021

Hi Michael
I received this email from Dave Albrecht at the ANBG today.

Albrecht, Dave (NCMI, Black Mountain)
3:25 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Hello Walter,

You are indeed correct with your identification of the Piptatherum miliaceum specimen. We would like to retain the specimen as there are relatively few records for the ACT. Unfortunately I could not find the record on CNM. If possible can you provide coordinates and an indication of abundance at the site?

Thanks.

All the best,

Dave

David Albrecht

Plant Identification and Liaison Officer | Australian National Herbarium

Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research

National Research Collections Australia

CSIRO

MichaelMulvaney wrote:

7 Apr 2021

Thanks Walter and Dave - a difficult one as to whether it is a local or non-local Australian species as there are records form the Young - Boorowa area, but the only previous records in Canberra are from a former Black Mountain rubbish dump and urban Queanbeyan

MichaelBedingfield wrote:

8 Apr 2021

Thanks Walter
PlantNet says it is a native of the Mediterranean region.

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