Plants of the Castlemaine district

Feathertop Rhodes-grass - introduced? (*Chloris virgata)

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The grass plant

rhodes grass

Native to tropical America and Asia. Annual. C4.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

Uncommon, but may be locally abundant.

Identification

There are few Victorian records for this grass, most of which are from near the Murray River in north-west Victoria.

Chloris: green, referring to the colour of the leaves and flowers of some species. virgata: composed of willowy twigs.

1: The radiating arms are clustered together and held vertically. 2: Stand of Feathertop Rhodes-grass at Castlemaine, 2010. 3: Lemmas. The upper lemma in the photo is the lower fertile lemma. It has a tuft of silky hairs. 4: The sterile lemma is squared off.

Some authorities consider that Feathertop Rhodes-grass may be a native (as well as native to other countries). The Castlemaine population is almost certainly introduced. It is usually close to a railway line or truck route.

Windmill Grass (Chloris tructata)