Astrebla squarrosa
C. E. Hubb.
(c) Kym Nicolson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kym Nicolson
(c) Kym Nicolson, some rights reserved (CC BY)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds, Cereal
Edible Parts: Seed Edible Uses: Carbon Farming Solutions - Staple Crop: balanced carb (The term staple crop typically refers to a food that is eaten routinely and accounts for a dominant part of people's diets in a particular region of the world) [1-1]. Cultivated in the past but largely or completely abandoned.
How to Identify
A grass that keeps growing from year to year. It has short underground stems or rhizomes. It grows 20-150 cm tall.
How to Grow
Historic Crop Management: Standard Staple Crop: Balanced carb. Climate: subtropical to tropical. Humidity: semi-arid. Grow on clay soils, mainly between an upper limit of 600 mm average annual rainfall, and a lower limit of 200 mm, and even below in depressions where the water concentrates following rains e.g. in Sturt's Stony Desert. Often seen growing to 1.5 metres tall on floodplains and heavy dark clay soils in arid to semi-arid Australia. The coarse stems and difficult digestibility make this a less desirable Mitchell grass for livestock. Mitchell grasses are deep-rooted and become dormant during drought, allowing them to survive extended periods without rainfall. Carbon Farming Solutions - Cultivation: historic crop. Cultivated in the past but largely or completely abandoned. Management: standard (Describes the non-destructive management systems used in cultivation).
Propagation: Wild. Seed.
Medicinal Uses
None Known
Other Uses
Providing habitat for organisms such as mammals. Bull Mitchell grass is less palatable to livestock than other Mitchell grasses. It can withstand grazing and drought and produces an abundance of fodder. Special Uses Carbon Farming
Wikipedia
Source ↗Astrebla squarrosa, commonly known as bull Mitchell grass, is a long lived herb of the family Poaceae. It is often seen growing to 1.5 metres (5 ft) tall. Its common name is one bestowed in honour of Thomas Mitchell. The plant can be found on floodplains and heavy dark clay soils in arid to semi-arid Australia, being regarded as the most flood tolerant of the Astrebla grasses. Flowering occurs in response to rain. The coarse stems and difficult digestibility make it a less desirable Mitchell grass for livestock.
Names & Synonyms
Bull Mitchell grass, Mitchell grass
References (1)
- Davies, C. L., Waugh, D. L. & Lefroy, E. C., 2005, Perenial Grain Crops for High Water Use. The case of Microlaena stipoides. RIRDC Publication No. 05/024
