General Description: A sparsely tufted, perennial grass, to 90 cm tall with a narrow, chaffy flower head, to 25 cm long, contains spear-like flowers with long, twisted awns.
Flowers and Fruit: Large dense erect flowers with more than 30 spikelets. Seeds have a base which forms a sharp, curved point. Tip extended into a long, twisted awn, to 110 mm long, which is more or less evenly hairy. Flowers from September to December.
Site Preference and Tolerances: Found in plains grassland, red gum and box woodland, valley forest and grassy low open forest. Prefers well drained soils and is suited to dry sandy soils. Prefers low slopes.
Life Span: This is a perennial grass and persists well in the Australian environment.
Wildlife Value: Eaten by seed eating fauna.
Other Values and Uses: When the flower spikes are more mature they have an attractive weeping form and this grass forms tussocks with a good shape. Spiky seeds can be a problem in traffic areas and get caught in animal coats.
Other Scientific Names: Stipa semibarbata
Germination Information: Usually grows well in 3 to 10 weeks without any treatment but should be at least a year old due to an inbuilt dormancy.