A small, dense tufty Carex with bright, shiny green foliage to about 20 cm high. Slender flowering stems grow to about the same length as the leaves. This is one of the sedge species which occur widely through the landscape, distant from wetlands or waterways although it does tend to occur in damper soils.

Tufted clump which spreads by rhizomes with large strap blue-green leaves. Grows to 80cm, flowerheads to 1.2m. Flowers in spring and summer, fleshy purple berries in late summer.

An upright tussock with bluish grey leaves to about 30 cm. The flowerheads emerge above the foliage to approximatley 50cm in summer. It can resemble its close relative , Red-leg Grass Bothriochloa macra but differs in that red-leg grass has green foliage with reddish nodes and dark coloured seed-heads. This is a summer growing grass with the 'C4' photosynthetic pathway.

Tall, to 1 metre. This species is very similar to Austrostipa mollis and mature seeds are needed to readily distinguish them. In Austrostipa mollis the hairs on the tightly coiled part of the seed's awn (long projection at the top of the seed) appear to spiral around the . In A. semibarbata the hairs are evenly distributed and the spiralling effect is not evident.

Tall, to 1 metre. This species is very similar to Austrostipa semibarbata and mature seeds are needed to readily distinguish them. In Austrostipa mollis the hairs on the tightly coiled part of the seed's awn (long projection at the top of the seed) appear to spiral around the . In A. semibarbata the hairs are evenly distributed and the spiralling effect is not evident.