Bunch Wire Grass

Images ©:
©Photo: (CC BY 2.5 AU) Chris Lindorff via natureshare.org.au, Photo: (CC BY 2.5 AU) Andrew Brown via natureshare.org.au

Aristida behriana

Tufted perennial grass to 40 cm with stiff, wiry stem. Flowers a dense globular cluster on a distinctive rounded stem. Leaves variable, can be flat, rolled or folded and maybe smooth or rough to the touch.

Details
Flora Type
Grasses
Other Common Names
Brush Wire-grass
Distinctive Features

Characteristic three-branched bristle or awn on seeds which blows away on drying.
Biology

Perennial. Found on drier light soils, coarse loams and soils on granite and laterite, but not found on sandy soils. C4 grass (biochemical system that is part of photosynthesis) which favours the species in hotter environments. Relatively unpalatable to stock and can colonise previously grazed paddocks.
Native Status
Native
Flowering Time

Oct-Jan
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Poales
Family
Poaceae
Genus
Aristida
Species
behriana

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Aristida is a virtually cosmopolitan genus characteristic of semi-arid regions of the world. Avoided by livestock so abundance can indicate overgrazing.

Interesting Facts
Native Status
Native