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.
These links take you to
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:
For larger images, click on the thumbnails below.
First close-up of the grass |
Ridge-grass
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Grasses under the middle-block snow-gums
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Grasses, with Acacia gunnii
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At the dam wall, looking south
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Grass around a Brachyscombe decipiens
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Grass beneath snow gums
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Beneath the snow gums
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Beneath the main ridge, looking SW
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At the dam, looking north
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The drive-way
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A lone serrated tussock, in the gully south of the
main ridge
|
? Small Rush |
Yorkshire Fog + Dog |
Round Leaves in Poa |
New seed-head, Kangaroo grass |
Creekline, Poas + View |
Poa, Leptorhynchus-squamatus + View |
Shivery Grass |
Poa ?labillardieri |
Panic(um effusum) grass (in front of the Vittadinia) |
Wallaby grass |
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. |
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 |
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) |
Poa |
Presumably Laballardierii? |
Close to waterline |
Near Upper Fence |
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 |
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! |
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 |
Unidentified Fine Grass ... |
... a Love Grass? |
Chloris truncata ... |
... Windmill Grass |
Tripogen loliiformis Five-Minute Grass |
|
Reeds ... |
... in the stream ... |
... southern waterline |
Unknown ... |
... TinyGrassRosettes |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Hypoxis hygrometrica |
Eliocharis gracilis ... |
... closer |
Carex sp. in main dam |
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 |
A Juncus ... |
... ?planifolius ... |
... and Detail |
|
Vulpia ... (Species Photo) |
... WEED ?species |
||
Aira ... (Species Photo) |
... WEED ?species |
Anthoxanthum odoratum ... |
... WEED Sweet Vernal Grass |
Pentapogen quadrifidus ... |
... Fiveawn Speargrass ... |
... detail |
Poa – purple; but distinct from Serrated T. |
Anthoxanthum odoratum ... |
... Sweet Vernal Grass (weed) |
An Austronanthia? ... |
... Wallaby Grass? |
Austrodanthonia ... |
... Wallaby Grass ... |
... sample taken to check ... |
... location (Echida Ridge, looking WNW) |
Cyperus sanguinolentus ... |
... a papyrus ... |
... and less close |
... detail |
Juncus fockei ... |
... closer up |
Deyeuxia quadriseta ... |
... a new species |
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 |
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 |
Dichelachne poss. micrantha ... |
... Plumegrass |
|
Luzula (but which?) |
Juncus poss. usitatus |
|
Joycea pallida ... |
... mid-southern block |
|
Five-minute grass ... |
... Tripogen lolliformis ... |
... and view |
Amphibromus ... |
... poss. neesii or nervosus ... |
... a new Genus ... |
... beside the northern chain of ponds |
Hemarthria uncinata ... |
... Mat-Grass Echidna Ridge |
Ditto ... |
... SE corner of central block |
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 |
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 |
Carex inversa ... |
... near the gate ... |
... attempts to get ... |
... the inflorescences |
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 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! |
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 |
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 |
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.
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 |
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
Hemarthria uncinata ... |
... near the gate ... |
... and cropped |
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.
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.
Hemarthria uncinata |
Panicum effusum ... |
... and cropped |
Fimbristylis dichotoma |
In Seed (3): Austrostipa falcata, Poa Sieb, Themeda (starting)
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)
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)
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 |
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 |
Quiescent, grasses low, Kangaroo Grass a little reddened.
But Linda saw there were some seeds on some of the Dichelachne micranthus.
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 |
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
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:
Very wet again
Juncus fockei ... |
... and dried out |
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: 20 Apr 2024