Skip to main content

With La Nina we are seeing remarkable recovery of native vegetation biodiversity on the Darling Downs after many years of dry conditions. https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/home is a great resource for ID if you want to log your local finds and confirm them with experts.

Dr. Abigail Makim of BioResEd has collected around 300-500 grams of seed for each of kangaroo grass (Themada triandra) (left two images) & tall oat grass (Themada avenacea) (right two images). They are both very striking and attractive grasses and quite distinct from the introduced African varieties we more commonly see, which have been introduced over many years for a range of reasons.

These seeds are suitable for propagation in tube stock or for hand broadcast, and would likely be part of native vegetation corridors and similar areas, rather than orchard inter rows. Native grasses can play an important part in on-farm biodiversity, and create a permanent habitat for native beneficial invertebrates above and below the ground.

Abigail will use this seed in trials for farmers working within BioResEd projects to evaluate its suitability for farms and orchards.