Plants → Magnoliophyta → Liliopsida → Poales → Poaceae Barnhart & Barnh. → Cortaderia Stapf → Cortaderia selloana (Schult. & Schult.f.) Asch. & Graebn.

Cortaderia selloana (Schult. & Schult.f.) Asch. & Graebn. Pampas Grass
Syn.Mitteleur.Fl. 2(1):325 (1900)

Brief Description
Amanda Spooner, Monday 24 September 2007

Dioecious, tufted perennial, grass-like or herb, 2-4 m high. Fl. white-pink, Dec or Jan to Apr. White or black peaty sand.

Management Notes (for the Swan NRM Region)
Kate Brown and Karen Bettink, Thursday 21 December 2017

Alternative Names. Uruguayan pampas grass, silver pampas grass.

General Biology. Growth form. Grass. Life form. Perennial, caespitose. Reproduction. Seed, rhizomes and tillers. Dispersal. Wind, water, slashing, mammals, garden refuse. Photosynthetic Pathway. C3. Seedbank persistence. 2 years. Fire response. Resprouts.

Notes. Capable of altering vegetation structure and decreasing diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. Often found in open sunny sites which receive additional moisture. Capable of becoming established on a wide variety of soil types. Sensitive to frost at the seedling stage but becomes more frost tolerant with age. Also tolerant of drought, fire, salinity and waterlogging. Intolerant of prolonged or intensive grazing especially when plants are small. Reproduces both sexually and asexually. There are two sexual forms: monoecious (bisexual) and female. Seed from female plants have long fine hairs on the lemma making them suitable for wind dispersal; hermaphrodite seeds lack these hairs. Female plants cannot produce viable seeds unless fertilized from a hermaphrodite plant resulting in vast numbers of viable seeds from each flower head. Hermaphrodites produce fewer viable seeds but are still able to reproduce in the absence of females. Seeds are primarily wind-dispersed and are able to disperse large distances. Seed can germinate under a wide range of conditions, however germination is highest in sandy soils, with available water and under shaded conditions compared with complete light. Recruitment and survival of seedlings is enhanced by soil disturbance and can be impacted by presence of generalist herbivores.

Additional information. Origin. South America, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uraguay. History of use/introduction. Garden ornamental, windbreaks, fodder for stock. Similar exotic species. Cortaderia jubata.

Suggested method of management and control. Cut out small plants, remove uprooted plants to avoid them resprouting. Treat young plants with13ml/L Fusilade Forte® + spray oil or for generic fluazifop-p (212g/L active ingredient) 8mL/L + spray oil. May require more than one application. Alternatively foliar spray glyphosate at 4%. Remove flower heads. Slash/burn clumps. Spray regrowth with 1% glyphosate in spring. Read the manufacturers' labels and material safety data sheets before using herbicides. For further information consult the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to determine the status of permits for your situation or state.

Management Calendar

Calendar Type	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Comments
Active Growth						Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Germination									Y	Y	Y
Flowering	O	O	O	O	O	O	Y	Y	Y	O	O	O	Can flower opportunistically
Optimum Treatment							Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

Legend: Y = Yes, regularly, O = Occasionally, U = Uncertain, referred by others but not confirmed.

 

References

• Blood, K. (2001) Environmental weeds: a field guide for SE Australia. C.H. Jerram and Associates, Melbourne.
• Brown, K. & Brooks, K. (2002) Bushland Weeds: A Practical Guide to their Management. Environmental Weeds Action Network, Greenwood.
• Connor, H.E. (1972) Breeding Systems in Cortaderia (Gramineae). Evolution, 27 (4): 663-678.
• Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (2007) Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana). URL: http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/PC_93104.html?s=1001 - Accessed October 2009.
• Domènecha, R. & Vilà, M. (2008) Cortaderia selloana seed germination under different ecological conditions. Acta Oecologica, 33 (1): 93-96.
• Drewitz, J.J. & DiTomaso, J.M. (2004) Seed biology of jubatagrass (Cortadera jubata). Weed Science, 52: 525-530.
• Henderson, L. (1995) Plant invaders of Southern Africa. Agriculture Research Council, ARC/LNR, Pretoria, South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute Handbook No. 5.
• Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Dodd, J., Lloyd, S.G. & Cousens, R.D. (2007) Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. 2nd Edition. The Plant Protection Society of Western Australia, Victoria Park.
• Lambrinos, J.G. (2000) The impact of the invasive alien grass Cortaderia jubata on an endangered Mediterranean-type shrubland in Califora. Diversity and Distributions, 6: 217-231.
• Lambrinos, J.G. (2001) The expansion history of a sexual and asexual species of Cortaderia in California, USA. Journal of Ecology, 89: 88-98.
• Lambrinos, J.G. (2002) The variable invasive success of Cortaderia species in a complex landscape. Ecology, 83 (2): 518-529.
• Moore, J.H. & Wheeler, J. (2008) Southern weeds and their control. DAFWA Bulletin 4744.
• Muyt, A. (2001) Bush invaders of South-East Australia: A guide to the identification and control of environmental weeds found in South-East Australia. R.G. & F.J. Richardson, Melbourne.
• Parsons, W.T. & Cuthbertson, E.G. (2001) Noxious weeds of Australia. 2nd Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
• Roser, D. & Vila, M. (2006) The role of successional stage, vegetation type and soil disturbance in the invasion of the alien grass Cortaderia selloana. Journal of Vegetation Science, 17: 591-598.
• Saura-Mas, S. & Lloret, F. (2005) Wind effects on dispersal patterns of the invasive alien Cortaderia selloana in Mediterranean wetlands. Acta Oecologica, 27129-133.
• Swarbrick, J.T. & Skarratt, D.B. (1994) The bushweed 2 database of environmental weeds in Australia. The University of Queensland, Gatton College.
• Texas invasive plant and pest council (2007) Cortaderia selloana. URL: http://www.texasinvasives.org/ - Accessed October 2009.
• US Forest Service, Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) (2009) Cortaderia selloana (Schult. & Schult.f) Aschers. & Graebner, Poaceae. URL: http://www.hear.org/pier/ - Accessed October 2009.
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program (2009) Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysimple.aspx - Accessed October 2009.
• Wildflower Society of Western Australia (Inc.), Murdoch Branch (Undated) Pampas grass eradication (brochure)..

Project information and acknowledgements