SCIENTIFIC NAME: Eragrostis setifolia
CATEGORY: C4 perennial
IDENTIFICATION TIPS
- A tussocky warm-season rhizomatous perennial growing to 60cm high, with a swollen and slightly-hairy base
- Leaves normally rolled, especially when dry
- Seedhead is an open panicle to 16cm long. Spikelets have 9-36 small unawned florets
- Flowers in response to rain throughout the year, but more common in spring and autumn
CLIMATIC & SOIL REQUIREMENTS
- Widespread and relatively common
- Often more abundant in moister areas, such as on the edges of bores, swamps and in water run-on areas
- Occurs on a variety of soil types; common on clayey soils and periodically flooded sandy loams
- Moderately drought tolerant, but frost sensitive
GRAZING & NUTRITIONAL VALUE
- Moderate grazing value
- No digestibility figures are available
- Crude protein 3-8%
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
- Moderately palatable and readily grazed when young, but ignored when mature if other feed is available
- Tolerant of heavy grazing and may become the dominant species in overgrazed pastures
- Dies back during prolonged dry periods, but readily re-shoots with rain
- Extensive fibrous root system is valuable for erosion control
- Use moderate grazing pressure for production and persistence
SIMILAR PLANTS
- Purple lovegrass (Eragrostis lacunaria) and weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis parviflora) lack swollen stem bases and rhizomes