Silvertop (or redanther) wallaby grass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Joycea pallida (formerly Danthonia pallida)

CATEGORY: C3 perennial

IDENTIFICATION TIPS

• A large, erect, yearlong green, perennial  tussock to 1.8 m tall
• Leaves are long, fine, grey-green  and often rolled and hairy; Ligule is a hairy rim 1-6mm long
• Seedhead is an open panicle to 35cm  long; prominent orange-red anthers are exposed at flowering
• Flowers from late spring to summer

CLIMATIC & SOIL  REQUIREMENTS

• Common in drier areas and sometimes  dominant in grassy open forests and woodlands; often a relic species where  woodland has been cleared
• Mostly found on skeletal to shallow,  infertile, sedimentary soils

GRAZING & NUTRITIONAL  VALUE

• Low to moderate  feed quality
• Digestibility not  measured
• Crude protein not  measured

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

• Forms a valuable summer feed in  harsher environments if kept short and green
• Generally avoided by stock due to  its tough leaves and the high proportion of dead leaves in the tussock
• It is an important “indicator”  species of light, infertile soils that need special management
• A valuable species for protection  against erosion on slopes and ridges
• Conservatively graze to maintain  populations, as it will often rapidly decline if frequently defoliated

SIMILAR PLANTS

• Wallaby grasses (Austrodanthonia spp.) lack orange-red  anthers and generally form smaller tussocks