Aristida calycina, commonly known as dark wiregrass,[1] is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is native in Australia.

It has lanceolate shaped glumes that are 6 to 20 mm (0.24 to 0.79 in) in length with the upper portion being obtuse and the lower part acute to acuminate.

The linear to elliptic lemma is purple or brown in colour with even darker margins and 6 to 9 mm (0.24 to 0.35 in) in length.

[2] The species was first formally described by the botanist Robert Brown in 1810 as part of the work Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805.

[3] There are three varieties of this species: Aristida calycina is found mostly in the eastern states of mainland Australia, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and parts of the Northern Territory with a scattered distribution that thins toward the west.