Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Chloris virgata Sw.

Synonyms

Chloris barbata Nees ex Steud. var. decora (Nees ex Steud.) Benth.
Chloris decora Nees ex Steud.
Chloris gabrielae Domin
Rabdochloa virgata (Sw.) P. Beauv.

Family

Gramineae (South Australia)
Poaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)

Common Names

feather finger grass, feather windmill grass, feathered chloris, feathertop Rhodes, feathertop Rhodes grass, feathery Rhodes grass, oldland grass, sweet grass

Origin

This species is pan-tropical and is thought to be native to the Africa (i.e. Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Madagascar), Asia (i.e. Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, southern Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, China, Japan, Korea, India and Pakistan), North America (i.e. USA and Mexico), Central America (i.e. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama), the Caribbean and tropical South America (i.e. Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay).

Naturalised Distribution

This species is widely naturalised in mainland Australia (i.e. in most of Queensland, New South Wales, ACT, South Australia and the Northern Territory, in many parts of Western Australia, and in some parts of Victoria).

Also naturalised overseas in the UK, the Canary Islands, Hawaii and on many other Pacific islands.

Notes

Though this grass is mainly a weed of agricultural areas and habitation, it is also regarded as an environmental weed in northern Australia (i.e. in northern Queensland and the Northern Territory). It spreads from cultivation, pastures, gardens, disturbed areas and roadsides to nearby creek lines, native grasslands and coastal environs (e.g. sand dunes). This species is a particularly aggressive invader of bare areas and degraded or disturbed native vegetation, and can out-compete native species in these habitats.