Common name
Golden Beard Grass
Ribbon Grass
Weeping Grass

Derivation
Chrysopogon Trin., Fund. Agrost. 187 (1820), nom. conserv.; from the Greek chrysos (golden) and pogon (beard), alluding to the golden hairs on the inflorescence.

fallax- Latin for deceptive. Closely resembling another species.

Published in
Univ. Queensland Dept. Biol. Pap. 2(3): 9 (1944).

Habit
Perennial, densely tufted. Basal leaf sheaths glabrous or villous, persistent and investing base of culm, with fibrous dead sheaths. Culms erect or geniculately ascending, 30–120 cm tall, 3–5-noded. Mid-culm internodes glabrous or pubescent. Mid-culm nodes glabrous. Lateral branches simple or sparsely branched or branched. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface or pilose, with tubercle-based hairs. Ligule a fringed membrane. Leaf-blades 5–45 cm long, 2–7 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface smooth or scaberulous, glabrous or pilose, with tubercle-based hairs. Leaf-blade margins scabrous. Leaf-blade apex attenuate.

Inflorescence
Panicle open, lanceolate, 7–21 cm long, 2.5–7 cm wide. Primary panicle branches whorled at most nodes, 3–6 cm long. Panicle axis glabrous or pubescent. Panicle branches capillary, flexuous, scaberulous, villous, hairy at tip, pubescent in axils. Rames bearing 1 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis obsolete.

Spikelets
Spikelets in pairs, one sessile and fertile and the other (companion) spikelet pedicelled. Pedicels linear, flattened, 3.5–7 mm long, 33–50% of length of fertile spikelet, glabrous or pubescent, hairy at tip. Companion spikelets developed, male or sterile (rarely), containing empty lemmas or male, linear or lanceolate, 9–14 mm long, as long as fertile, separately deciduous. Companion spikelet glumes chartaceous, muticous or one glume awned. Companion spikelet lemmas enclosed by glumes, muticous. Fertile spikelets 2-flowered, comprising 1 fertile floret, lower floret sterile, upper fertile, without rhachilla extension, lanceolate, laterally compressed, acute, 9–14 mm long, falling entire, deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus cuneate, 1.7–3.5 mm long, bearded, base acute. Spikelet callus hairs 1–2 mm long.

Glumes
Glumes dissimilar, firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong, equalling spikelet, cartilaginous, 5–7-nerved. Lower glume surface scabrous, rough above. Lower glume apex truncate. Upper glume oblong, 1-keeled, 3–5-nerved, midnerve pectinately ciliate. Upper glume surface scabrous, rough generally or above. Upper glume apex obtuse, awned. Upper glume awn 5–18 mm long.

Florets
Basal sterile floret 1, without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong, 5–7.5 mm long, hyaline, 2–3-nerved, ciliolate on margins. Fertile lemma linear, 5.5–7 mm long, hyaline, 1-nerved. Lemma margins ciliolate. Lemma apex dentate, 2-fid, 1-awned. Median (principal) awn from a sinus, geniculate, 20–45 mm long overall, with a twisted column. Column scabrous. Palea 3.2–4.2 mm long, 0–2-nerved. Anthers 3–5 mm long. Grain 3.5–4 mm long.

Continental Distribution:
Australasia.

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

Western Australia: Gardner, Fitzgerald, Hall, Dampier, Fortescue, Ashburton, Carnarvon, Austin. Northern Territory: Darwin & Gulf, Victoria River, Barkly Tableland, Central Australia North, Central Australia South. South Australia: Lake Eyre. Queensland: Cook, Burke, North Kennedy, South Kennedy, Port Curtis, Leichhardt, Burnett, Wide Bay, Darling Downs, Moreton, Gregory North, Gregory South, Mitchell, Warrego, Maranoa. New South Wales: Northern Tablelands, North-Western Slopes, North-Western Plains, North Far Western Plains.

Classification. (GPWG 2001):
Panicoideae: Andropogoneae

Notes
Endemic. Found in all mainland states except Vic. in subtropical and tropical areas on a variety of soils; mainly in open forests. It has some forage value and is resistant to drought and heavy grazing. Flowers Oct.–July.

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