Rat’s-Tail Couch

Rat's-Tail Couch photos

Family: Grass (Poaceae syn. Gramineae)

Scientific Name:

Sporobolus mitchellii

Photograph courtesy of Viridans Biological Databases (external link)

Other Common Names:

Swamp Rat-tail Grass, River Couch, Short Rat-tail Grass, Creeping Sporobolus, Condamine Couch

Status:

Native to Australia.

Plant Description:

Tufted or stoloniferous, perennial grass to 50 cm tall, with flat, slightly rough, dull green leaves 1-10 cm Long and 1-2.5 mm wide; ligule 0.5 mm long, often with longer hairs to the side.

Inflorescence, a narrow spike-like panicle, 2-12 cm long and 3-8 mm wide. Spikelets 2-2.5 mm long, dull, straw coloured or greyish, single flowered.

Habitat:

Occasional on the edges or moist beds of lakes and swamps or along river banks and on floodplains and table-drains in the Wimmera, Mallee and northern plains of Victoria. Often on heavy clay soils or on clay loams where wet.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Mallee, Loddon Murray, Wimmera	S0, S1, S2	W1, W2

Comments:

Similar to the near coastal grass, Salt Couch (S. virginicus) but less salt tolerant.

Rat's-Tail Couch Photos

Dried-off patch of Rat's-tail couch in Sea barley-grass Photo: A J Brown	Rat's-tail Couch - flowerheads Photo: A J Brown
Rat's-tail Couch - flowering spike-like panicles Photo: A J Brown	Rat's-tail Couch - stolons Photo: A J Brown
Rat's-tail Couch - leaves Photo: A J Brown

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