Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Polypogon monspeliensis (L.) Desf.

Synonyms

Alopecurus monspeliensis L.

Family

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

Common Names

annual beard grass, annual beard-grass, annual beardgrass, annual rabbitsfoot grass, beard grass, bearded grass, beard-grass, Montpelier beardgrass, rabbitfoot beardgrass, rabbit-foot grass, rabbitfoot grass, rabbitfoot polypogon, rabbitsfoot

Origin

Native to northern Africa (i.e. Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, Libya and Morocco), the Azores, the Madeira Islands, the Canary Islands, Europe (i.e. the UK, France, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania, Yugoslavia and Ukraine), western and northern Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, southern Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), Japan and the Indian Sub-continent (i.e. India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern and eastern Australia (i.e. in southern and central Queensland, throughout New South Wales and Victoria, in the ACT and Tasmania, and in large parts of South Australia and Western Australia). Also naturalised on Lord Howe Island and occasionally naturalised in the southern and northern parts of the Northern Territory.

Naturalised overseas in southern Africa, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Central America, South America and Hawaii.

Notes

Annual beard-grass (Polypogon monspeliensis) is regarded as a relatively important environmental weed in Victoria and Western Australia. While not widely regarded as a problem species in other states, it commonly invades natural habitats in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

In Victoria, annual beard-grass (Polypogon monspeliensis) is seen as a serious threat to one or more vegetation formations. For example, it is classified as a high threat weed species in grassy wetland and brackish wetland communities. It also appears on some local and regional environmental weed lists (e.g. in the Goulburn Broken Catchment and in the Mornington Peninsula Shire) and grows in many conservation areas in this state (e.g. in Morwell National Park, Barkindji Biosphere Reserve, Phillip Island Nature Park and Organ Pipes National Park). Annual beard-grass (Polypogon monspeliensis) is also seen as a threat to the endangered turnip copperburr (Sclerolaena napiformis) in Victoria.

This species grows in moist areas, along creeks and rivers, and in swamps in Western Australia. It is a common weed of disturbed wetlands, both freshwater and brackish, from Kalbarri to Cape Arid and was ranked as a moderate priority species in the Environmental Weed Strategy of Western Australia. Annual beard-grass (Polypogon monspeliensis) is particularly troublesome in brackish wetlands and saline areas along rivers in south-western Western Australia.