Linda and Roger's Bunhybee Grasslands - Grasses


This is a page within Roger and Linda's Bunhybee Grasslands Web-Site.
Bunhybee Grasslands is a 49 hectare / 120 acre conservation property 35km south of Braidwood, in southern N.S.W.
You can follow through the internal links, or you may find it easier to use the Site-Map.


Photos of Grasses

These links take you to


Information about Grasses

Here is the Species List of grasses on the property.

Here are the References we've used in building up this information.

Below are our photos of grasses on the property.

There are about 40 species of native grasses on the property, but also a dozen exotics. The information in this page is primarily from MP (1.8 p. 7, App. B pp. 37-41, App. D pp. 43-47).

We've defined 'grass' broadly and pragmatically, by including:

In the moist areas, the dominant grasses are:

In the moister areas, other local grasses include:

with invasions by:

In the dry areas, the dominant grasses are:

In the dry areas, other grasses include:

A couple of areas of Serrated Tussock (Nasella trichotoma – all too similar to Stipa setacea!) have been whittled away, along the main ridge and on the eastern side of the northern block (100 in 2009, 60 in 2010, 20 in 2011).

Other local grasses mentioned in MP (pp. 37-41) are:

Other exotic grasses mentioned in MP (p. 41) are:


Photos of Grasses

For larger images, click on the thumbnails below.

Autumn – 20 Apr 2008

First close-up of the grass

Early Winter – 1 Jun 2008

Ridge-grass
Grasses under the middle-block snow-gums

Late Winter – 23 Aug 2008

Grasses, with Acacia gunnii
At the dam wall, looking south
Grass around a Brachyscombe decipiens
Grass beneath snow gums

Spring – 27 Sep 2008

Beneath the snow gums
Beneath the main ridge, looking SW

Spring –– 6 Oct 2008

At the dam, looking north
The drive-way
A lone serrated tussock, in the gully south of the main ridge

Early Summer – 15 Nov 2008

? Small Rush
Yorkshire Fog + Dog
Round Leaves in Poa
New seed-head, Kangaroo grass
Creekline, Poas + View
Poa, Leptorhynchus-squamatus + View
Shivery Grass

Late Summer – 22 Feb 2009

Poa ?labillardieri
Panic(um effusum) grass (in front of the Vittadinia)
Wallaby grass

Autumn – 24 Apr 2009

Grasses 30m inside the gate, looking south
Kangaroo grass, Poa ?lab., and others, above small dam
Juncus filicaulis (in the foreground, with the brown nodules, not the yellow flower)
Rushes in small dam
Red-Leg Grass (low clump in foreground with c.6 50cm stems)
Austrodanthonia Sp. (Wallaby Grass)
?Eragrostis Sp.

Late Autumn - 9 May 2009 ­ FOG Visit

See also separate listings of Flowers and Trees & Shrubs.

Dichelachne Sp. (Plume Grass)
Enneapogon nigricans (Nineawn Grass)
Enneapogon nigricans
Luzula densiflora (Woodrush)
Sporobolus creber (Rats' Tail Grass)
[New to the list]
Sporobolus creber
Sorghum leiocladum (Native Sorghum)
[New to the list]
Lomandra longifolia
Lomandra filiformis
Dichelachne sp. (A Plume Grass)
Juncus, medium, in a wet area
Carex gaudichaudeii
Juncus, small, fockeii group
Juncus, small, fockeii group
Lomandra multiflora
Juncus, large, wet area
Dichelachne sp. (Plume Grass)
Dichelachne crinita

Late Winter - 1 August 2009

Suspect
Nassella trichotoma (A)
Northern Block,
centre of E-W and N-S (A)
Ditto (A)
Suspect
Nassella trichotoma (B)
Northern Block,
near main water-line (B)
Suspect
Nassella trichotoma (C)
Just E. of copse on Echidna Ridge (C)

Still Early Spring - 7 October 2009

Poa
Presumably Laballardierii?
Close to waterline
Near Upper Fence

Early Summer - 11 November 2009 – ANPSWW Group

An Austrodanthonia ...
... Ditto ...
... Ditto
A Different Austrodanthonia
Lachnagrostis filiformis ...
... Lachnogrostis filiformis
Dichelachne sp. / Plumegrass
Schoenus apogon
?Juncus filicaulis
Lomandra filiformis
Austrodanthonia carphoides ...
... Ditto
Poa meionectes ...
... Ditto ...
... Ditto ...
... Ditto
Austrostipa ?rudis ...
... Ditto ...
... Ditto
Eleocharis gracilis ...
... Ditto

Summer - 30 December 2009

Elymus scaber ...
... Common Wheat-grass
Sorghum leiocladum ...
... Native Sorghum
Aristida ramosa ...
... Purple Wire-grass ...
... continued
Themeda australis
( Kangaroo Grass) seedheads
Poa labillardierei ...
... three shots of ...
... the seadhead
Juncas filicaulis (Pinrush) ...
... Pinrush and Poa lab. ...
... and again
Anthoxanthum odoratum
(Sweet Vernal Grass - I)
& Plantago lanceolata (I)
(Ribwort or Ribbed Plantain)
Panicum effusum ...
... Hairy Panic
Yorkshire Fog and
Sweet Vernal Grass ...
... both Weeds!

Very Late Summer - 5 April 2010

Microlaena stipoides,
with view ...
... near the trees ...
... and beneath the trees
Which grass is in the water?
Same again
Poa lab. on the dam wall
But Paspalum is
enjoying the water too
ANPS-WW members ...
... said this was ...
... Tripogon loliiformis ...
... Five Minute grass

Early Autumn - 17 April 2010

Unidentified Fine Grass ...
... a Love Grass?

Mid-Autumn - 2 May 2010

Chloris truncata ...
... Windmill Grass
Tripogen loliiformis
Five-Minute Grass
Reeds ...
... in the stream ...
... southern waterline

Very Early Spring - 27 September 2010

Unknown ...
... TinyGrassRosettes

Spring - 6 November 2010

 
Schoenus apogon ...
... detailed ...
... Common Bog-Sedge ...
 
... in quantity ...
... stems close-up
Luzula flaccida ...
... a woodrush
Hypoxis hygrometrica
Austrodanthonia sp. ...
... a Wallaby Grass
Anthoxanthum odoratum ...
... Sweet Vernal Grass ...
... Introduced ...
... with Poa sieberiana
Holcus lanatus ...
... Yorkshire Fog Grass
Introduced
Mixed grasses
Poa, previous year's ...
... old head ...
... and stem and root
Clover / Trefoil
Introduced
A Plumegrass
Grass seeds ...
... with dog
Nassella trichotoma ...
... Serrated Tussock ...
... Introduced

Spring - 13 November 2010

Eleocharis
?gracilis ...
... Slender Spike-sedge
Bromus
Introduced
Phalaris aquatica ...
... Introduced
Themeda seed head ...
... and again
Austrodanthonia x2 or Nineawn Grass
Austrodanthonia x2
Austrodanthonia x2
Seedheads of
A.danthonia Nineawn

Summer - 12 December 2010, Wet

Dichelachne ?micrantha
Austrostipa setacea
Joycea pallida ...
... detail
Elymus ?scaber ...
... Wheatgrass, detail
Themeda australis ...
... Kangaroo Grass
Nassella trichotoma
(one, middle-distance) ...
... Serrated Tussock (Intro'd)
Phalaris aquatica ...
... from distance (I)
Holcus lanatus ...
... Yorkshire Fog ...
... near waterline (I)
Briza minor
Trifolium arvense (I) ...
... Haresfoot Clover (new)
Trofium / Clover (I) ...
... ?subterraneum, ?globosum

Summer – 28 December 2010

The time was (only just) right to do a trial harvest of Themeda australis seed. But Tim Booth (of Captain's Flat Rd, Queanbeyan) only had a short window available, so we went ahead. The purpose was to prevent the Kangaroo Grass becoming too dense and hence squeezing out forbs and reducing diversity. Tim uses a bush harvester called a 'Grass Hopper', which is manufactured in Cooma. It has a spinning brush on a horizontal axis, which draws the heads into the hopper. It only captures about 20% of the seed-heads that it passes over, and the head does no apparent harm to the remainder.

Tim's rig ...
... the Grass Hopper ...
... lunch on the ridge ...
... Tim and the booty
Map of Themeda areas
harvested and
considered
Heads ...
... detail

The bigger risk is the wheels of the Grass Hopper (which is drawn in a path offset from the ute) and then of the ute itself. As the ute and trailer run clockwise, concentrically, each track is run over three times, resulting large tracts of beaten-down grass. It looked roughly like a wombat had gone over it 3 or 4 times in quick succession. When pushed up with the foot, however, the long stalks sat vertically again, i.e. they were pushed over not broken.

Some areas with relatively thick cover had to be left alone because the surface was too wet (with a number of springs evident – suggesting to Tim a granite shelf a short distance underground) and/or the slope was a bit too steep to get back up without damaging the grass and risking wheel-spins and bogging. Two small stretches were damaged, and pushed back down with the boot.

To empty the hopper, Tim first left the door open and let the squirming mass of caterpillars, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, etc. work their way towards the light and make their bid for freedom (pictures on the animals page). He then spread the catch on a tarp to begin drying. When he was ready to leave, he bundled them up, to take them home, finish drying them, and then sell on to a specialist who knows how to extract the seed. The northern paddock ridges would have been likely to offer some further opportunities for cropping, but the crossing was too wet to get there. The ridges in the rest of the middle block, and the flatter areas in the southern block weren't dense enough to need harvesting (nor, from Tim's viewpoint, be worth the time and effort).

Echidna Ridge provided a couple of hoppers' full of seed-heads. Tim later said that this yielded about 50kg of dried florets. In much denser Themeda at Guy's Cross the next day, he harvested about 120kg in the same time. We all suspect that the species diversity there is lower. ('It stands to reason', as they say). So our feeling is that this intervention has been performed at about the right time, i.e. before the Kangaroo Grass becomes too dense and squeezes out the forbs. The next challenge is to work out whether it needs to be an annual, biennial or occasional event, and whether and when the other, less dense areas need the same treatment.

Here are the other grasses shots taken on the day:

Sorghum leiocladum ...
... aka Sarga l. ...
... Native Sorghum ...
... showing the skirt ...
... another plant ...
... and its seed-heads
Joycea pallida ...
...
...
... Red-anthered Wallaby Grass
Plume Grass with Themeda ...
... Dichelachne ...
... but which of the three? ...
...
Holcus lanatus
Yorkshire Fog (Intro'd) ...
... 50m south of the Gate ...
... further south ...
... between the creeklines

Early Autumn – 12 March 2011

Juncus ?subsecundus ...
... detail
Themeda australis, tiring
Juncus filicaulis ...
... detail
Poa sp.
Juncusfilicaulis ...
... more detail ...
... most detail
Carex sp.
Paspalum, SW corner
After-effects of spraying
Yorkshire Fog,
near the gate,
with collateral damage

Early Autumn – 20 March 2011

Hypoxis hygrometrica
Eliocharis gracilis ...
... closer
Carex sp. in main dam

Late-Spring/Early-Summer – 16 November 2011 – Peter and Lisa Hofer

Dichelachne ?sp. ...
... Plume Grass ...
... Detail ...
... and its elbow
Pentapogon quadrifidus
NEW SPECIES ...
Fiveawn Speargrass
... Detail
Lomandra filiformis ...
... poss. coriacea
But only 5-8cm!?
Lomandra multiflora ...
... near the dam ...
... Detail
Poss. Cyperus sanguinolentus
(new native species)
Poa, with Viola
Stipa setacea /
Corkscrew Grass ...
... and Nassella trichotoma /
Serrated Tussock ...
... side-by-side,
just East of the copse

Late-Spring/Early-Summer – 19 November 2011 – FOG'11

A Juncus ...
... ?planifolius ...
... and Detail
Vulpia ...
(Species Photo)
... WEED ?species
Aira ...
(Species Photo)
... WEED ?species
Anthoxanthum odoratum ...
... WEED
Sweet Vernal Grass

Still Early-Summer – 10 December 2011 – FOG'11

Pentapogen quadrifidus ...
... Fiveawn Speargrass ...
... detail
Poa – purple; but
distinct from Serrated T.
Anthoxanthum odoratum ...
... Sweet Vernal Grass (weed)
An Austronanthia? ...
... Wallaby Grass?

Mid-Summer – 15 January 2012

Austrodanthonia ...
... Wallaby Grass ...
... sample taken to check ...
... location (Echida
Ridge, looking WNW)
Cyperus sanguinolentus ...
... a papyrus ...
... and less close
... detail

Very Early Spring – 1 February 2012 (with Penny and John from York)

Juncus fockei ...
... closer up
Deyeuxia quadriseta ...
... a new species

Early Autumn (after a cool, wet summer) – 18 March 2012

Juncus sp. and Juncus fockei, right ...
... detail
That Juncus sp. again ...
... detail
Juncus filicaulis ...
... Pinrush, detail
And another
Hemathria uncinata
Mat-grass, Species photo
Dichelachne sp.
in the SWarea ...
... again, detail

Early-Mid of a Late, Cool Spring – 22 Oct 2012

Lachnagrostis poss. filiformis ...
... again ...
... and again
Luzula densiflora
Luzula flaccida
Carex gaudichaudii, in
the pool above the dam ...
... and cropped
Poa Sieb., sub-species
with dark inflorescences,
unlike moist-area Siebs
Juncus fockei in front
of a large Juncus
... in the uppermost pool
of the southern waterline ...
... and very close
Juncus filicaulis
on dry land, up the slope

Early in a Late, Cool Summer – 14 Nov 2012

Dichelachne
poss. micrantha ...
... Plumegrass
Luzula (but which?)
Juncus poss. usitatus
Joycea pallida ...
... mid-southern block
Five-minute grass ...
... Tripogen lolliformis ...
... and view

Early in a Late, Cool Summer – 1 Dec 2012

Amphibromus ...
... poss. neesii or nervosus ...
... a new Genus ...
... beside the northern
chain of ponds

Mid-Autumn – 13 April 2013

Hemarthria uncinata ...
... Mat-Grass
Echidna Ridge
Ditto ...
... SE corner of
central block

Late Winter – 7 August 2013

N of Gateway
S of Gateway
SE of Gateway
Track nr Gateway
Gateway Creekline
Track further N
Themeda to Poa
The Small Dam
Midway Waterline
Ridge West End
Track up to Ridge
Then Wombat Tracks
North Block
The Well-Mown NE
Wombat Pond, Pig-Dig
Spring above Gateway

Early Spring – 25 September 2013

There was no sign of action from the Poas, Stipas or Themeda; but, apart from the Yorkshire Fog, a few early grasses were already showing seed-heads.

Lomandra Longifolia
Again ...
... cropped
NEW SPECIES:
Lepidosperma sp. ...
... up at Picnic Corner
Luzula densiflora ...
... cropped
Again
And again
And Again ...
... cropped
And one more time ...
... cropped

Late Spring – 20 October 2013

Carex inversa ...
... near the gate ...
... attempts to get ...
... the inflorescences

Mid-Summer – 8 January 2014

It's been a warm and wind-dried summer. Yet the rainfall's been odd – 2013 had 4 big months, most recently Nov, with 8 low-rainfall months, and a total 9% above long-term average. Poas and Stipas were healthy, Dichelachne wasn't greatly in evidence, and there were four surprises, with three new species, and two Sorghum plants that we hadn't seen before

Hookerochloa hookeriana ...
... or poss. eriopoda ...
... NEW SPECIES ...
... above the scrape
upper northern waterline
Sorgham/ Sarga
leiocladum ...
... sorghum (native) ...
... 2m from the Calotis ...
... (northernmost)
Austrodanthonia tenuior
... NEW SPECIES
West end of Echidna Ridge
Carex iynx ...
... cropped ...
... NEW SPECIES ...
... one plant between
track and small dam

Very Early Spring – 20 August 2014

Very wet ground, after 100mm a few days earlier. And just after a series of frosts had finished.

Left of gate, very wet
Poa/Austrostipa
and not-yet sprung
Yorkshire Fog
Right of gate
basically ditto
but far less wet
Poa sieb and
Kangaroo Grass
foreground and ridge,
Poa lab in the gully
An odd patch of
dead (Poa sieb?) ...
... SE of
centre-block
Ungrazed lush
Poa lab/sieb
lightly-grazed
t'other side
incl. 4 Herefords
what done it
Suspect
Nassella trichotoma
Various views of
the location
East end of
Echidna Ridge,
part-way down
the nthn slope
Bright green only!

Summer – 10 December 2014

Rhytidosperma
carphoides ...
... = Austrodanthonia,
Wallaby Grass,
cropped ...
Grass sp.
Pentapogen ...
... again ...
... again
Heavy Seedhead ...
... as-yet
unidentified ...
... and cropped ...
... again,
but open ...
... again ...
... again
Dichelachne
Field ...
... close ...
... closer ...
.. closest

Summer – 14 January 2015

Fimbristylis dichotoma ...
... cropped ...
... again ...
... and again
A Lovegrass ...
... Eragrostis sp. ...
... poss. parviflora
(i.e. native)
Themeda australis ...
... cropped
Kangaroo Grass, but ...
... with a virus or fungus

Mid-Spring – 3 October 2015

The start of spring was delayed considerably, due to the cool mornings lasting a month longer than usual. This was the first real heat, with three 28-30 degree days over the long weekend. The ground was dry, presumably due to persistent winds (very strong indeed on Saturday night). The water table was high, the dam still fairly full.

Species seen in the North and Centre blocks – (F means in Flower):
Aust seta, Junc usit, Loma mult, Luzu dens, Micr stip, Plan vari F, Poa labi, Poa sieb, Them aust;
Introduced: Anth odor F, Holc lana , Plan lanc.


Mid-to-Late Spring – 21 October 2015

Species seen on Echidna Ridge and in or near Gate Gully (F means in Flower):
Loma fili F (very small, yellow, just below track above small dam), Luzu dens, Plan vari F, Poa labi, Poa sieb, Scho apog F, Them aust;
Introduced: Anth odor F, Holc lana F (just starting), Pasp dili, Phal acqu

Lomandra filiformis ...
... just below the track,
above the small dam

Late Spring – 4 November 2015

Visit by NCT's Nigel Jones and Rainer Rehwinkel.

These 4 were in flower: Anth odor (I), Holc lana (I), Scho apog (very widespread), Them aust (young inflorescences at this stage were only in the waterlines)

Plus these 5: Aris ramo, Aust carp, Briz mino (I), Hook erio, Micr stip


Late in a warm, wet Summer – 7 February 2016

Hemarthria uncinata ...
... near the gate ...
... and cropped

Early Spring – 15 October 2016

The season had finally got moving, a mere week later. The dams and waterlines were still full, but barely running, the various springs were easing off, and the ground in the lesser waterlines was moist rather than wet.

Emergently noticeable were (only): Carex brev, Luzul sp.

Spring – 9 November 2016

Sweet vernal was far too much in evidence, and Yorkshire Fog was also heading up.

Of the natives, those that were advanced were Loma (fili?), Poa meion, Schoe apog.


Late Summer – 17 March 2017

Hemarthria uncinata
Panicum effusum ...
... and cropped
Fimbristylis dichotoma

Early Summer – 11 November 2017

In Seed (3): Austrostipa falcata, Poa Sieb, Themeda (starting)

Early Summer – 9 December 2017

In Seed (6, plus 3 introduced): (Anth odor - more numerous than in the past, particularly up on the Ridge), Dich ?micrantha, Elym scab, (Holu lana - not as numerous or as advanced as in some years, presumably because of the dry year and the lateness of the rain), (Nase trich - 20 specimens found, drawn and chipped out), Poa lab, Poa sieb, Sarg lei, Them aust (a bit sparse, but some specimens very tall and colourful)


Early Summer – 1 December 2018

With inflorescences: Aust caesp, Dich micra, Poa lab, Poa sieb, Them aust

Introduced species in flower: Antho odor, Nass trich


(Intense drought intervened, with weed-work but few photos)


Early Autumn – 21 March 2020

First visit a week or two after 250mm that broke a 3-year and intense drought. For details, see the Weed Control Implementation page

'The hills were alive' with new native growth, but not a lot of weeds. Presumably most are spring and summer growth, and the rain came too late to advantage them.

Fimbristylis dichotoma
...
...
...
Isolepis inundata
...
... a new species! ...
...
...
...
Sarga leiocladum ...
... Native Sorghum
First sighting of
Eragrostis trachycarpa ...
... which had been
on Rainer's 2007-08 list ...
... but not recognised ...
... until 12 years later
Austrostipa setacea
... East of the copse ...
... and Linda's 3 setacea specimens ...
... to help distinguish ...
... setacea from
Nasella / Serrated Tussock
Juncus capitatus
Dwarf Rush
says Marg Ning
Introduced species

Early Autumn – 29 March 2020

These are from a recce of the southern block, plus weed-work.

Sporobolus creber ...
... at the gate ...
... and again
Sarga leiocladumaka ...
... and view
Prob. Juncus bufonius
New Species

End of Winter – 5 Sep 2020

Quiescent, grasses low, Kangaroo Grass a little reddened.
But Linda saw there were some seeds on some of the Dichelachne micranthus.

Late Summer – 20 January 2021

A quite remarkable summer for grasses.

The Themeda, at Bunhybee, and elsewhere in the valley, was redder, taller and richer than any other time in the 12 summers we've known the area.
And the Poa flowering also seemed to be particularly high, especially among what appear to be young ones.

Themeda and Bruenig
Them, and Bunhybee Peak
Bottom of Gate Gully
Fast Dog, Slow Themeda
Them, Snowgum, A. mearnsii
Re-marking the track
A 5-foot Poa lab., Themeda
Poa lab.

Microlaena was in many places where we'd never noticed it – not just in the far NE, Forest/Picnic Corner. It was prominent beneath the snow-gums in Centre Block, where it was over 1m long and curled over on itself. Roger had never seen it grow long like that (because the kangaroos usually keep it cropped). So it does earn its name of 'Weeping Grass'!
Sorghum was far more evident, was far taller and far more multi-headed than in the past. There was also Dichelachne / Plume grass, incl. near the entrance gate.

Microlaena, Themeda
Microlaena in Snowgum Woodland
Native Sorghum ...
... with tutu

Late Autumn – 3 May 2021

Themeda had a good year, although not the densest we've ever seen.

Joycea on the western fenceline 100m south of the gate was prolific and high

Microlaena was bowed / curled over just NW of the southern swamp

Early Summer – 10 Dec 2022

Still wet after a prolonged El Nino. Details here.

Along with 3 new shrub species, Linda found another 2 probable new grass species — not bad almost 15 years after we assumed responsibility for Bunhybee. They are:
Dichelachne inaequiglumis ...
... and specimen
Schoenus ericetorum

Also 3 mature Juncus planifolius photos and 2 specimens, and a Dichelachne micrantha specimen:


Future Activities

  1. Themeda australis
    In some areas, Kangaroo Grass is becoming somewhat dense and matted, particularly on the western end of Echidna Ridge.
    As seen at Turallo Nature Reserve just south of Bungendore, this not only denies space for forbs, it also results in the Themeda dying off, and introduced species taking over the space.
    We intend devising a trial low-intensity burn (incl. pre-photos and a control plot) in that area

This is a page within the Bunhybee Grasslands Web-Site, home-page here, and site-map here
Contact: Linda or Roger
Created: 22 October 2008; Last Amended: 1 Jan 2023