Fimbristylis velata is a species of sedge native to the North Island of New Zealand[1] and Australia, where it is found in Western Australia, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia.[2]
F. velata was first described in 1810 by Robert Brown from a specimen he found at Port Jackson, Sydney. Australian and New Zealand authorities accept it as a species,[1] though Plants of the World online considers it to be a synonym of Fimbristylis squarrosa var. esquarrosa .[3]
The specific epithet, velata, is a Latin participle, velatus, -a, -um, which describes some part of the plant as being "covered" or "partially concealed from view".[4]
Fimbristylis velata is a small densely tufted annual. Its leaves are shorter than its culms. There is no ligule. The compound inflorescence has many solitary spikelets on branches which are up to 5 cm long. The flowers have one stamen with an anther 2 -3 mm long. The style is bifid, with a sparse fringe of hairs above, while at the base there is a whorl of long whitish hairs closely pressed to the nut and partially covering it. The nut is biconvex, straw-coloured and shining.
It flowers from spring to summer and typically grows in moist places.