The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Themeda triandra
Also called Red grass, Red Oat Grass, Red Oat, Angle Grass, Red Grass / Kangaroo Grass, Spurned Grass
Kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) is a tufted perennial grass native to Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, grown mainly as an ornamental, lawn substitute or native planting. It is a warm-season grass that does best in open, sunny spots with light, occasional watering and no heavy grazing.
Themeda triandra is a species of C4 perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and red oat grass or as rooigras in Afrikaans. Kangaroo grass was formerly thought to be one of two species, and was named Themeda australis.
The plant has traditional uses as food and medicine in Africa and Australia. Indigenous Australians harvested it to make bread and string for fishing nets around 30,000 years ago. It was used as livestock feed in early colonial Australia, but this use was largely replaced by introduced plants. As of 2021 there is a large government-funded project underway to investigate the possibility of growing kangaroo grass commercially in Australia for use as a regular food source for humans.
Themeda triandra is found across Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific. In Australia, it is found in all of the states and territories. It grows predominantly in grassland and open woodland communities. It is a significant species in temperate grasslands in Australia, a habitat considered to be endangered or threatened in various parts of the country. It does not do well under heavy grazing pressure, but benefits from occasional fire.
The young growth is palatable to livestock. It serves as a food source for several avian species, including the long-tailed widowbird, and is occasionally used as an ornamental plant.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Themeda triandra by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
