Native grasses come in four main types :
- Landscaping or Ornamental Grasses.
- Revegetation Grasses
- Aquatic Grasses
- Lawn substitute Grasses
The ornamental varieties are widely used in landscaping both as feature plants and for mass planting where low maintenance is a factor.
The search for the ideal native grass continues in Australia. while many clumping species are used in landscaping it is the true ‘ grass like’ varieties that are currently being developed.
Many Australia native grasses such as Hermarthria uncinata are yet to be fully evaluated as to suitability for use in Australian Gardens as lawn substitutes. Ornamental Australian Grasses are widely used by landscapers and in the home garden.
Other Native Australian Grasses with common names.
- Austrostipa stipoides – Coast Spear Grass
- Bothriochloa macra – Red Leg grass
- Capillipedum spicigerum – Scented Top grass
- Carex appressa – Tall Sedge
- Carex fascicularis – Tassel Sedge
- Chloris truncata – Windmill grass
- Chloris ventricosa
- Cymbopogon refractus – Barbed wire grass
- Danthonia caespitosa – Wallaby grass
- Danthonia linkii – Wallaby grass
- Danthonia richardsonii – Wallaby grass
- Danthonia setacea – Wallaby grass
- Dianella caerulea – Blue Flax Lilly
- Dianella revoluta – Mauve Flax Lilly
- Dianella tasmanica
- Dicanthium sercieum – Queensland Blue grass
- Dichelachne crinita – Long haired plume grass
- Eragrostis elongata – Clustered Love Grass
- Ficona nodes – Knobbly Club Rush
- Hemarthria uncinata. A Native Australian grass that is currently being evaluated as a suitable species for lawn replacement.
- Hemarthria uncinata or ‘Mat Grass’ is a low growing (prostrate) grass that is a running grass, it forms roots from nodes on the runners.
- Imperata cylindrica – Blady grass
- Juncus bufonius -Toad Rush
- Lomandra confertifolia – Mat Rush
- Lomandra filiformis – Wattle mat-rush
- Lomandra longifolia – Spiny Mat Rush
- Marsilea mutica – Smooth Nardoo
- Microlaena stipoides – Weeping grass is another grass that is worthwhile trialling as a lawn substitute. Growing to 50cm ‘Weeping Grass’ prefers a semi shaded positions and seems to respond to mowing and to fertilizer.
- Paspalum distichum – Water couch
- Paspalum vaginatum – Salt water couch
- Pennisetum alopecuroides – Swamp foxtail
- Poa labillardieri – Large Tussock grass
- Poa poiformis – Coastal Tussock grass
- Poa siebriana – Snow grass
- Sorghum leiocladum
- Spinifex sericeus – ‘Coastal Spinifex’
- Sporobolous virginicus – Sand couch
- Stipa scabra
- Stipa verticillata – Slender Bamboo grass
- Themeda australis – Kangaroo grass
- Themeda australis ‘Mingo’ – Dwarf Kangaroo Grass.
- Zoysia Macrantha – Zoysia Grass or Prickly Couch
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