Native Grasslands - PART 2: Growing a Natural Garden
from S.G.A.P Journal, November 1998, 14(8)
Native Grasslands Are More Than Just Grasses!
Ed: In their first article, Ann and Millie explained that native grasslands are naturally occurring areas that are covered with native grasses and their close relatives in the iron-grass, sedge, reed and rush families, and that have few or no trees. They can be ablaze with colour in spring, with daisies, lilies and other wildflowers. Grassy woodlands, on the other hand, have widely-scattered she-oaks, wattles, gums and native pines over the same or a very similar suite of native grasses and other low-growing plants.
Native Grasslands Are More Than Just Grasses!
- They contain many different grasses and relatives, such as spear-grass (about 25 Austrostipa (syn. Stipa) spp.), wallaby-grass (about 12 Danthonia spp.), kangaroo-grass (Themeda triandra), lemon-scented grass (Cymbopogon ambiguus), three-awned grass (Aristida behriana and several others), iron-grass (Lomandra spp.), black-grass (Lepidosperma spp.), porcupine-grass (Triodia scariosa, T. iritans) and flax-lily (Dianella revoluta, D. longifolia).
- Grasslands will have 40 - 80 or more different species in total. They have as many types of wildflowers and other flowering plants such as peas, lilies and daisies as they have grasses.
- They should have lots of 'bare' ground which actually has a binding crust of lichens, mosses, blue-green algae and liverworts in between the grass clumps. This is where the native reptiles and seed-eating birds live and feed.
- They can have widely-scattered shrubs and maybe a few trees mainly she-oak (Allocasuarina sp.), Christmas bush (Bursaria spinosa) and Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha).
Growing Our Native Grassland Wildflowers
Many of the wildflowers and native grasses of grasslands and grassy woodlands would make excellent cottage garden plants, and give imported garden flowers a run for their money. For example, commercially available species include: Common Everlasting (Chrysocephalum apiculatum), an everlasting-type daisy; Flax-lily (Dianella revoluta and D. longfolia), perennial upright leaves and tall heads of rich blue flowers; Native Lilac (Hardenbergia violacea), a twining plant with sprays of purple pea-flowers in winter; and Goddust Wattle (Acacia acinacea), a small shrub with golden wattle flowers.
In addition, many of the native grasses have lovely showy flowering heads and can put up a good fight for attractiveness with imported garden feature grasses such as pampas grass and feathertop grass. For example, in my garden, kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) flowers almost all year round, with showy carroty-red, green and black flower heads a metre tall.
The following are plants on which S.G.A.P. members might concentrate for growing and/or promoting because they are found almost exclusively in S.A. grasslands and grassy woodlands.
Table One: Wildflowers
| Scientific Name | Common Name |
| Acacia acinacea | gold-dust wattle |
| Arthropodium fimbriatum | small vanilla-lily |
| A. minus | nodding vanilla-lily |
| Asperula conferta | common woodruff |
| Atriplex semibaccata | berry saltbush |
| Calocephalus citreus | lemon-beauty-heads |
| Calostemma purpureum | garland lily |
| Craspedia globosa | drumsticks |
| Cryptandra amara var. floribunda | pretty cryptandra |
| Cullen parva | small scurf-pea |
| Cymbonotus preissianus | austral bears ear |
| Cynoglossum suaveolens | sweet hounds tongue |
| Dianella longifolia | pale flax-lily |
| Dodonaea procumbens | trailing hop-bush |
| Eryngium rostratum | blue devil |
| Goodenia albiflora | white goodenia |
| G pinnatifida | cut-leaf goodenia |
| Lagenifera huegelii | coarse bottle-daisy |
| Leptorhynchos elongatus | lanky buttons daisy |
| L. squamatus | scaly buttons daisy |
| L. tetrachaetus | wiry buttons daisy |
| Maireana decalvans | black cotton-bush |
| M enchylaenoides | wingless bluebush |
| M excavate | bottle bluebush |
| Olearia pannosa ssp. pannosa | silver-leafed daisy bush |
| Pimelea curvifolia | curved rice-flower |
| P. humilis | common rice-flower |
| P micrantha | silky rice-flower |
| Podolepis cancescens | large copper-wire daisy |
| P jaceoides | showy podolepis |
| Psoralea (see Cullen) | |
| Ptilotus erubescen | hairy heads, hairy tails |
| Sida, corrugata | corrugated sida |
| Templetonia stenophylla | leafy templetonia |
| Velleia paradoxes | spur velleia |
| Vittadinia blackii | Black's vittadinia |
| V gracilis | woolly New Holland daisy |
| Wahlenbergia luteola | yellow-wash bluebell |
| Wurmbea latifolia | early Nancy |
Table Two: Native Grasses and Close Relatives
| Scientific Name | Common Name |
| Aristida behriana | three-awned grass |
| Austrostipa blackii | crested spear-grass |
| A. curticoma | spear-grass |
| A. gibbosa | spear-grass |
| A. multipiculis | spear-grass |
| A. setacea | corkscrew spear-grass |
| Bothriochloa macro | red-leg grass, red grass |
| Chloris truncate | windmill grass |
| Danthonia auriculata | lobed wallaby-grass |
| D. carphoides | short wallaby-grass |
| D. linkii var. fulva | Link wallaby-grass |
| Dicanthium sericeum | silky blue-grass |
| Elymus scabrus | tall or common wheat-grass |
| Enneapogon nigricans | blackhead grass |
| Homopholis proluta | rigid panic |
| Juncus homalocaulis | wiry rush |
| J. radula | hoary rush |
| J subsecundus | finger rush |
| Lepidosperma lineare | little sword-sedge |
| Lomandra nana | little mat-rush |
| Panicum effusum | hairy panic |
| Paspalidium constricts | knotty-butt paspalidium |
| Stipa (see Austrostipa) |
These lists are from Rick Davies (1997) Weed Management in Temperate Native Grasslands and Box Grassy Woodlands in South Australia Black Hill Flora Centre, Adelaide.
Article by Ann Prescott and Millie Nicholls.
The Native Grasslands Project
Ann and Millie work on the South Australian Temperate Grassland Project, which is funded by the Natural Heritage Trust and supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The Native Grasslands Project is working with landholders, Local Government and other groups in the Mid-North to improve the condition of native grasslands, both to retain their grazing potential and for nature conservation. If you are interested in knowing more about native grassland or grassy woodland in the Mid-North, you can contact Millie Nicholls, or Ann Prescott, through The Australian Plants Society SA.
