1	"Lemma lacking apical lobes or lobes much less than 1 mm long; habit neither a dense, prickly tussock nor spreading, wiry and rhizomatous"	2
1	"Lemma with acute narrow lobes more than 1 mm long at apex; prickly-leaved, tufted, maritime grass or a wiry, rhizomatous grass of heaths and woodlands"	38
2	"Tufted perennials or annuals; culms usually simple; nodes various; awn bristle terete or somewhat angular but not flattened"	3
2	"Rhizomatous perennials, not,or rarely tufted, and then only sparsely so; culms often branched; nodes dark and conspicuous; awn bristle distinctly flattened or triangular in section"	32
3	"Awn of mature spikelets twice bent, more or less straight above the bends"	4
3	"Awn of mature spikelets evenly curved beyond basal, strongly twisted part, or, rarely, straight throughout"	25
4	"Lemma with coma at apex (coma sometimes sparse or of hairs no longer than those of body of lemma); glumes acute to acuminate"	5
4	"Lemma without coma at apex (except occasionally in S. rudis subsp. nervosa, which has truncate to obtuse glumes)"	17
5	"Glumes bulging around floret; lemma relatively stout (length mostly less than 6 times diam.); callus strongly curved, relatively short (10–25% of remainder of lemma); panicle open"	6
5	"Glumes not bulging around floret; lemma relatively slender (length mostly more than 6 times diam.); callus almost straight, relatively long (25–40% of remainder of lemma); panicle open or contracted"	11
6	"Palea distinctly grooved down the centre; ligule 1.5–9 mm long"	"Austrostipa setacea"
6	"Palea flat or convex; ligule less than 4 mm long"	7
7	"Coma 2–5 mm long; at least the lower leaves distinctly pubescent"	"Austrostipa blackii"
7	"Coma to 2 (rarely 2.5) mm long; leaves glabrous, scabrous or very sparsely pubescent"	8
8	"Ligule (at least of upper leaves) papery, 1–4 mm long, glabrous; coma erect; typically a tall (to 2 m) grass resembling oat (Avena spp.), mostly in northern Victoria"	"Austrostipa aristiglumis"
8	"Ligule firm, to 1.5 mm long, ciliate; coma usually somewhat spreading; to 1.5 m high, mostly on basaltic soils"	9
9	"Awn 25–35 mm long, strongly twice bent (usually at right-angles) and arising toward dorsal side of lemma (i.e. not central at apex) due to asymmetric development of grain"	"Austrostipa gibbosa"
9	"Awn 30–60 mm long, and bent at less than right-angles, arising centrally at apex of lemma"	10
10	"Lemma more or less evenly hairy; coma 1.2 mm long or more; column of awn glabrous or scabrous with hairs less than 0.2 mm long; ligule to 0.5 mm long"	"Austrostipa bigeniculata"
10	"Lemma almost or quite glabrous (but scabrous) about the well-defined neck; coma 0.5–1 mm long (rarely to 2 mm); column of awn usually pubescent with hairs 0.3–0.5 mm long; ligule 0.5–1.5 mm long"	"Austrostipa curticoma"
11	"Lemma smooth and shining, glabrous or very sparsely hairy; summit of leaf-sheath encircled by copious woolly hairs; rare, apparently confined to gypsum-rich rises in the far north-west"	"Austrostipa nullanulla"
11	"Lemma granular, hardly shining, the surface more or less obscured by hairs; summit of leaf-sheath without woolly hairs"	12
12	"Hairs on lemma abruptly shorter near apex, creating a conspicuous dorsal ""bald patch""; elsewhere on lemma hairs dense, usually covering lemma surface, shining golden brown or coppery at maturity; mainly western species"	13
12	"Hairs on lemma evenly distributed (except for denser callus region), or reducing gradually toward apex of lemma (rarely with subapical 'bald patch' on dorsal surface in hairy-awned A. stuposa), sparse to moderately dense but not covering lemma surface, white to golden brown at maturity"	14
13	"Lower glume 14–25 mm long; lemma 6–9 mm long; widespread in dry western areas"	"Austrostipa eremophila"
13	"Lower glume 8–14 mm long; lemma 4–6 mm long; rare, only in far north-west and Horsham district"	"Austrostipa puberula"
14	"Column of awn plumose with hairs 0.5–1.5 mm long; coma 1–3 mm long, usually with hairs distinctly longer and denser than those of lemma body"	"Austrostipa stuposa"
14	"Column of awn glabrous, scabrous or pubescent but hairs generally less than 0.5 mm long; coma to 1.5 mm long, often inconspicuous, the hairs not or barely longer or denser than those of lemma body"	15
15	"Culms 1–4 mm diam. at base; panicle usually rather dense; glumes pale green, less commonly purplish; near-coastal"	"Austrostipa flavescens"
15	"Culms to 1 mm diam. at base; panicle sparse; glumes distinctly purplish (at least when young); never coastal"	16
16	"Leaves pubescent, fine and flexuose; lower glume 8–12 mm long"	"Austrostipa exilis"
16	"Leaves glabrous (sometimes scabrous or rarely with few short, stiff hairs), rigidly erect; lower glume 12–17 mm long"	"Austrostipa mundula"
17	"Column of awn smooth or scabrous with hairs less than 0.3 mm long"	18
17	"Column of awn plumose or pubescent with hairs more than 0.3 mm long"	21
18	"Glumes truncate or obtuse, 8–15 mm long"	"Austrostipa rudis"
18	"Glumes acute or acuminate (if eroded at tips, then glumes more than 15 mm long)"	19
19	"Lower glume 11–18 mm long; awn 50–80 mm long, less than 20 mm to the first bend; summit of lemma strongly antrorsely scabrous, with 1 or 2 lobes to 0.5 mm long"	"Austrostipa oligostachya"
19	"Lower glume more than 16 mm long; awn 55–110 mm long, more than 20 mm to the first bend; summit of lemma granular to minutely scabrous, usually without lobes"	20
20	"Panicle sparse, usually with no more than 20 spikelets; awn 80–110 mm long, 45–60 mm to the first bend; glumes and basal leaf-sheaths strongly purplish; alpine or subalpine species"	"Austrostipa nivicola"
20	"Panicle sparse or moderately dense, usually with more than 20 spikelets; awn 55–95 mm long, 25–50 mm to the first bend; glumes and basal leaf-sheaths not or only slightly purplish; lowland to foothill species"	"Austrostipa pubinodis"
21	"Lemma 7 mm long or more; awn 50–110 mm long"	22
21	"Lemma 5–7 mm long; awn 30–60 mm long"	24
22	"Longest hairs on column of awn at least 1 mm long, arranged mostly in a row and appearing to spiral as the awn twists"	"Austrostipa mollis"
22	"Longest hairs on column of awn 0.3–1 mm long (rarely to 1.2 mm), evenly distributed around column and not appearing to spiral"	23
23	"Summit of lemma strongly antrorsely scabrous, with 1 or 2 lobes to 0.5 mm long, hairs on lemma (excluding callus) often confined to dorsal nerve region and margins; inflorescence open; glumes and lower leaf-sheaths strongly purplish"	"Austrostipa oligostachya"
23	"Summit of lemma granular, usually without lobes, hairs on lemma not confined to dorsal nerve region and margins; inflorescence contracted; lower leaf-sheaths not or only weakly purplish"	"Austrostipa semibarbata"
24	"Inflorescence dense; glumes pubescent; leaves strongly pubescent; usually in rocky sites, widespread"	"Austrostipa densiflora"
24	"Inflorescence loosely contracted; glumes glabrous to minutely scabrous; rather rare species of dry sandy sites in the west and goldfields"	"Austrostipa hemipogon"
25	"Awn more or less straight; ligule of upper leaves usually more than 5 mm long, glabrous; sheath of at least lower leaves densely covered with shining hollow hairs; annual fire-follower"	"Austrostipa macalpinei"
25	"Awn distinctly falcate; ligule of upper leaves less than 5 mm long;  hairs, when present, not appearing hollow; perennials, not particularly fire-promoted"	26
26	"Floret 7–9 mm long; awn 7–12 cm long"	"Austrostipa tenuifolia"
26	"Floret usually less than 7 mm long; awn 4–10 cm long"	27
27	"Column of awn pubescent with spreading hairs 0.3–0.8 mm long; leaf-blades 2 mm or more wide but sometimes inrolled"	28
27	"Column of awn scabrous or with appressed to slightly spreading hairs to 0.4 mm long; leaf-blades less than 2 mm wide, usually tightly inrolled or closely folded"	29
28	"Leaf-blades flat or only slightly inrolled, 2–7 mm wide, densely short-pubescent; nodes usually concealed by broad, pale-margined sheaths; inflorescence dense, typically 25–40 cm long"	"Austrostipa drummondii"
28	"Leaf-blades closely inrolled, pungent at apex, glabrous or pubescent but never densely so; nodes apparent, sheaths narrow and tightly enveloping culm; inflorescence slender, to 20 cm long"	"Austrostipa pilata"
29	"Leaf-blades strongly inrolled, very fine (less than 1 mm diam.), usually erect"	30
29	"Leaf-blades weakly or strongly inrolled, more than 1 mm diam., usually somewhat spreading"	31
30	"Leaf-blades scabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent with rigid hairs to c. 0.5 mm long; lower part of awn glabrous or scabrous with outgrowths less than 0.2 mm long"	"Austrostipa scabra"
30	"Leaf-blades with spreading hairs c. 1 mm long; lower part of awn pubescent with hairs 0.2–0.4 mm long"	"Austrostipa trichophylla"
31	"Inflorescence dense, overall light green and shining, its base usually partly enclosed by sheath of uppermost leaf when young; new shoots intravaginal"	"Austrostipa nitida"
31	"Inflorescence typically sparse, overall purplish, its base usually exserted from sheath of uppermost leaf; new shoots extravaginal"	"Austrostipa nodosa"
32	"Panicle broadly pyramidal at maturity; panicle branches plumose"	33
32	"Panicle various; panicle branches glabrous, scabrous or minutely pubescent but never plumose"	34
33	"Hairs of panicle branches 1.5–3 mm long; nodes glabrous; glumes pilose on the nerves"	"Austrostipa elegantissima"
33	"Hairs of panicle branches 0.3–0.6 mm long; nodes pubescent; glumes scabrous on the nerves"	"Austrostipa tuckeri"
34	"Glumes longer than 4 mm; awn bristle distinctly triangular or flattened; culms (if branched) with a single branch per node; inflorescence usually with spreading branches"	35
34	"Glumes to 4 mm long; awn bristle neither flattened nor distinctly triangular in section; culms often several-branched at nodes; inflorescence usually with contracted branches"	37
35	"Callus c. 0.5 mm long; lower glume 4–6.5 mm long; lemma 3–4.5 mm long"	"Austrostipa breviglumis"
35	"Callus c. 1 mm long; lower glume 6–15 mm long; lemma 4.5–6 mm long"	36
36	"Bristle triangular in section, not wider at its base than the column, nearly straight"	"Austrostipa acrociliata"
36	"Bristle flat, wider at its base than the column, usually strongly falcate"	"Austrostipa platychaeta"
37	"Lemma 2.7–4 mm long, distinctly hairy at least in lower two-thirds; awn 30 mm long or more"	"Austrostipa verticillata"
37	"Lemma 1.8–2.5 mm long, glabrous or with a few sparse hairs toward base; awn to 30 mm long"	"Austrostipa ramosissima"
38	"Panicle reduced to 1–4 spikelets; culms branched; rhizomatous grass"	"Austrostipa muelleri"
38	"Panicle with more than 8 spikelets; culms simple; tufted grass with prickly leaves"	"Austrostipa stipoides"