Pampas grass
Cortaderia selloana
family
Poaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
Council Pest Vegetation (BCC Natural Asset Local Law)
Council Pest Vegetation (BCC Natural Asset Local Law)
Common names
Common pampas, Common pampas grass, Cut throat grass, Pampas grass, Silver pampas grass, Silvergrass, Uruguayan pampas grass, White pampas grass.
A very large, long-lived, tussock-forming grass with thick flowering stems growing 2-6 m tall. Its long and narrow leaves are very large (60-200 cm long and 3-20 mm across) and have very sharp, finely toothed margins. Their bases are pale yellow or whitish and as the leaves mature they droop down towards the ground. Its whitish seed-heads are large (25-100 cm long), plume-like and feathery in appearance (fading to light brown as they mature)separate male and female florets are usually produced on separate plants. Female florets have silky hairs (4-8 mm long) while male florets are hairless.
Impact
Impact
This species is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. It is actively managed by community groups in Tasmania, Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT and is among the 200 most invasive plants in south-eastern Queensland. Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) prefers open sunny places that receive added moisture, and often invades damp places such as freshwater wetlands, stream banks and the margins of mangrove swamps. It has also spread into several drier plant communities including dry coastal forests, heathlands, open woodlands and grasslands. Infestations can become very dense, excluding most of the native ground flora and seriously impeding the recruitment of overstorey species. This species is also invasive in other parts of the world, and is listed in the Global Invasive Species Database.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
This species is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. It is actively managed by community groups in Tasmania, Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT and is among the 200 most invasive plants in south-eastern Queensland. Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) prefers open sunny places that receive added moisture, and often invades damp places such as freshwater wetlands, stream banks and the margins of mangrove swamps. It has also spread into several drier plant communities including dry coastal forests, heathlands, open woodlands and grasslands. Infestations can become very dense, excluding most of the native ground flora and seriously impeding the recruitment of overstorey species. This species is also invasive in other parts of the world, and is listed in the Global Invasive Species Database.
