Family: Poaceae

Status:

Description:
A tall grass (to 1m) with a distinctive erect, columnar habit and curly leaves. It is an orange-brown colour during the warmer months, and fades to straw-coloured during winter. Seed is surrounded by white hairs to about 1cm long, giving the seedhead a fluffy appearance.

Preferred habitat and impacts:
Mostly restricted to disturbed sites such as road verges and powerline easements, where it is spread by slashing. However, it has shown itself capable of invading adjacent pasture where there is some form of disturbance such as cultivation or burning. It is of low nutritional value to stock, and may create a fire hazard.
It invades forest and other native vegetation, along tracks.

Dispersal:
Main spread currently seems to be caused by slashing of seeding plants. Wind dispersal of seed is also suggested by the spread into adjacent areas which happens after disturbance. Once into paddocks it can spread by adhering to animals. Movement of soil on machinery can also spread infestations on roadsides.

Look-alikes:
Could be confused with the native kangaroo grass (Themeda australis, also called Themeda triandra), which is also a tall tussock grass. Kangaroo grass turns reddish brown over winter, not straw-coloured. It usually has the leaf matter at the base, with tall seed heads carried on long bare stems emerging from the base, while whisky grass has the seed heads and leaves more mixed over the full height of the tussock. However, kangaroo grass growing on fertile soils derived from basalt often adopts a very tall columnar habit which makes it look very similar to whisky grass. Check for seed heads to make sure of the identification in this case.

Control:
Dig plants out and dispose of them carefully to avoid spreading the seed. Spot spraying can also be used to remove scattered plants. Once a dense infestation has developed, cultivation and establishment of a vigorous perennial pasture may be needed. Do not graze in the first year, and remove any seedlings which appear. Manage grazing intensity to maintain pasture vigour to out-compete whisky grass seedlings.