Your gateway to a wide range of natural resources information and associated maps

Victorian Resources Online

Blue Tussock-grass

Back | Salinity Indicator Plants Home | Common name home | Scientific name home | Photo Gallery | Glossary



Blue Tussock-grass photos

Scientific Name: Poa poiformis

Maturing panicle of Blue Tussock-grass
Maturing panicle of Blue Tussock-grass
Photo: A J Brown

Other Common Name:

Coast Tussock-grass

Status:

Native of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.

Plant Description:

A large tussock forming grass to 1 m tall, with stiffly erect, smooth leaves of a rather bluish- or glaucous-green colour. Leaf blades are generally closely inrolled and sharply tipped. The flower-heads are often narrow and dense
panicles to 30 cm long, which rarely spread until after maturity.

Spikelets have 2-7 flowers, are 5-8 mm long and green to straw-coloured and the lemmas (larger of the two flower bracts) are conspicuously hairy along the lower parts of their nerves.

Habitat:

Common along most of the coastline on marshes, flats, sand dunes and sea-cliffs.

Comments:

Similar to other native tussock-grasses of which Victoria has about 25 species. From other species growing in wet coastal environments (e.g. Common Tussock-grass –
Poa labillardierei), Blue Tussock-grass is generally distinguished by its smooth, closely inrolled leaves, its often bluish colouration and contracted flower-head.

Blue Tussock-grass photos

Old flower-head of Blue Tussock-grass from the previous season
Old flower-head of Blue Tussock-grass from the previous season
Photo: A J Brown
Tussock of Blue Tussock-grass
Tussock of Blue Tussock-grass
Photo: A J Brown


Blue Tussock-grass flowerheads and leaves
Flower-heads and leaves of Blue Tussock-grass
Photo: A J Brown

Blue Tussock-grass spikelet
Spikelets of Blue Tussock-grass
Photo: A J Brown

Blue Tussock-grass emerging flower-heads
Emerging flower-heads of Blue Tussock-grass
Photo: A J Brown

Page top