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Astrebla lappacea
Also called Common Mitchell Grass, Wheat Mitchell Grass, Wheat Ear Mitchell Grass
Astrebla lappacea, commonly known as curly Mitchell grass, is a herb of the family Poaceae from the order Poales. It grows to 0.9 metres (3 ft) tall. Named in honour of Thomas Mitchell, the Latin specific epithet of lappacea is derived from lappa meaning with burrs. The most common of the Astrebla species, it is a widespread Australian inland plant. It is often seen on floodplains and heavy self-mulching clay soils, and flowers in response to rain or flooding. This grass is palatable to livestock, even when dry.
The most widespread of the Astrebla genus, A. lappacea is found predominantly in northwestern NSW and central west QLD. Typically, these grasses occur in floodplains and areas of self-mulching clay.
The main use of A. lappacea is for grazing. While it supports growth of ephemeral grasses which are preferred by livestock, Curly Mitchell grass provides sufficient fodder to bulk out the rest of livestock’s diet.
Hoop Mitchell Grass · Barley Mitchell grass · Bull Mitchell Grass · Mitchell Grass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Astrebla lappacea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
