Chloris truncata

R. Br.

Windmill grass, Umbrella grass

PoaceaeSeeds/Nuts
Chloris truncata
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(c) Mike Lusk, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mike Lusk
Chloris truncata
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(c) Miguel de Salas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Miguel de Salas
Chloris truncata
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) dorchard, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds

The seeds are eaten.

Where to Find It

It is a warm temperate plant. It grows in winter rainfall areas.

Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, South Africa,

Countries: Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Angola, Austria, Australia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Burundi, Benin, Bahamas, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Switzerland, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Estonia, Egypt, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Madagascar, North Macedonia, Mali, Mauritania, Malta, Mauritius, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Trinidad & Tobago, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, United States, St Vincent, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A grass that keeps growing from year to year. It has runners. It grows 45 cm tall. The leaves are 3-20 cm long by 2-3 mm wide. They are rounded at the top. The spikelets occur in a 1-sided arrangement. These are 8-15 cm long with 6-15 flowers.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Chloris truncata, known by the common names Australian fingergrass, windmill-grass, Australian windmill grass and simply windmill grass locally in Australia, is a perennial grass. Chloris truncata is a low-growing grass forming a small clump of around 30 centimetres in diameter. It has long leaves, approximately 10–15 cm long with a distinctive blunt tip and flattened leaf sheath at the base. It is light green in colour with a prominent central vein. The plant gets its common name from its large windmill-shaped flowering heads, which can be around 30 cm across. Each of the long black spikes is lined with black seeds which have two awns each. Seed is set in both summer and winter. The plant spreads moderately fast, but is relatively hard to propagate. It prefers full sun and may be used as a lawn grass if mowed lightly.

Names & Synonyms
Chloris elongata Poir.Chloris megastachya Schrad.Chloris truncata f. abbreviata Thell.
References (1)
  • Williams A. & Sides, T., 2008, Wiradjuri Plant Use in the Murrumbidgee Catchment. Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority. Wagga Wagga, p 68

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