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infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
seed-head (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
close-up of flower spikelets (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
close-up of seeds (Photo: Steve Hurst at USDA PLANTS Database)
Ehrharta longiflora Sm.
Gramineae (South Australia)Poaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)
annual veld grass, annual veldt grass, annual veldgrass, annual veldt-grass, annual veldtgrass, longflowered veld grass, longflowered veldtgrass, oat seed grass, tall ehrharta, veldt grass, veldtgrass
Native to southern Africa (i.e. south-western Namibia and Cape Province in South Africa).
Widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. in many parts of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, in Tasmania, and in the southern and western parts of Western Australia.
Also sparingly naturalised in south-eastern Queensland and naturalised in south-western USA (i.e. California).
This short-lived introduced grass is a weed of pastures, grasslands, open woodlands, heathlands, roadsides, disturbed sites, waste areas, lawns, parks, gardens, waterways and coastal environs. It is regarded as an environmental weed throughout south-eastern Australia and in south-western Western Australia. Annual veldtgrass (Ehrharta longiflora) competes with native ground vegetation and can change the fire regime in densely infested areas. It has a rapid growth rate, and is usually one of the first annual grasses to flower, which enhances its invasiveness and competitiveness.
In Victoria it is present in conservation areas (e.g. Dookie Bushland Reserve and Phillip Island Nature Park) and is one of several weed species that are thought to be a threat to the survival of the endangered Euroa guinea-flower (Hibbertia humifusa subsp. erigens). Annual veldtgrass (Ehrharta longiflora) also directly threatens one population of the brittle greenhood orchid (Pterostylis truncata ), which is regarded as being vulnerable in Victoria.
In south-western Western Australia, annual veldtgrass (Ehrharta longiflora) is a common weed of wetlands and waterways, invades sand dunes, and is present in eucalypt woodland communities in the Avon wheatbelt region. It is also present in conservation areas in this state (e.g. Piney Lakes Reserve) and is one of the weed species threatening Irwin's conostylis (Conostylis dielsii subsp. teres ) in the Geraldton region.
Annual veldtgrass (Ehrharta longiflora) is also present in numerous conservation areas in South Australia (e.g. Gilbertson Gully Reserve, Angove Conservation Park, Sturt Gorge Recreation Park, Coorong National Park, Sandy Creek Conservation Park, Lincoln National Park and Cudlee Creek Conservation Park).
Fact sheets are available from Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) service centres and our Customer Service Centre (telephone 13 25 23). Check our website at www.biosecurity.qld.gov.au to ensure you have the latest version of this fact sheet. The control methods referred to in this fact sheet should be used in accordance with the restrictions (federal and state legislation, and local government laws) directly or indirectly related to each control method. These restrictions may prevent the use of one or more of the methods referred to, depending on individual circumstances. While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of this information, DEEDI does not invite reliance upon it, nor accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused by actions based on it.
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