Sunshine Coast Conservation Forum - Sunshine Coast Council

Book Review
Grasses: Native &
Introduced Grasses of the
Noosa Biosphere Reserve
and surrounding regions
by Sonia Macdonald and Stephanie Haslam
Grasses are a part of the landscape that we often
take for granted, yet they play a vital role in
maintaining many ecosystem processes. For example
on cleared land, grass coverage helps protect
valuable topsoil from erosion and subsequent
sedimentation of our waterways. Grasslands are
also habitat for a range of native animal species.
Grasses are a successful family of plants that have
adapted to growing in many different environments
such as tidal flats, coastal dunes and under a
rainforest canopy. This book is a labour of love
by the authors, who are both passionate about our
local environment and dedicate much of their time
engaged in community volunteer work. The book
follows on from the success of Noosa’s Native Plants,
written by Stephanie Haslam in 2004.
It covers a range of topics including structure and
reproductive parts of grasses, native and invasive
grasses, and the use of grasses in agriculture and
landscaping. It describes 108 native and non native
grass species with full sized scanned images of
pressed grass specimens that have been accurately
identified by the Queensland Herbarium.
The scanned specimens are very clear, with all
the specimens (with the exception of kikuyu
grass) having reproductive parts present. Grass
identification can be a difficult undertaking, but this
way of presenting images of each grass makes the
process a lot easier. In addition local botanical artist
Molly McCloskey has provided accurate illustrations
of grass structures. The attractive art and design
work comes courtesy of the talented Steve Cook.
The section on invasive grasses has been written
by Phil Moran from Noosa Landcare and council’s
Conservation Manager Geoff Black. They explain
how invasive grasses arrived here (mainly as
escaped pasture plants, seed contaminants of
imported products, and landscaping plants). There
is information on how to control invasive grass
species, not an easy task considering the prolific
amount of seed produced by many species. The
section on pasture grasses is written by Graeme
Elphinstone, an extension officer from QDPI&F
with many years experience on the Sunshine
Coast. Graeme discusses why sown exotic grasses
are recommended for pasture production, and
provides an overview of pasture production on
the high rainfall coastal zone. The role of grasses
in landscaping is discussed by nurseryman Robert
Price, who advocates the use of native grass species
such as barbed wire grass and kangaroo grass in
landscaping. He cautions the use of exotic grasses
such as Pennisetum setaceum, which is supposedly
a sterile variety but is easily confused with other
Pennisetum species, some of which are weedy.
I have noticed this on one landscaped development
site in the Noosa area where this weediness is
now apparent.
In summary this book fills an important gap in our
knowledge of grasses and the role they play (both
good and bad) in our local environment, and is
highly recommended.
Available from and published by Noosa Integrated
Catchment Association Inc.
PO Box 172 Tewantin
Cost $40 plus postage
ISBN978-0-646-50982-2
Dave Burrows
Conservation Partnerships Officer
Some ecological values of bracken fern
Bracken fern Pteridium esculentum
page 6
The impacts of bracken fern Pteridium spp. as
an agricultural pasture weed have been well
documented. Cattle, horses, pigs and sheep
suffer detrimental health effects and can even
die from grazing on bracken fern fronds. In
fact graziers have long been frustrated by the
difficulty of effectively controlling the plant.
One farmer was reported to say “after 13
defoliations in one year, the bloody fern came
up with its head ducked so as to miss the mower
blades”. However the ecological role of this
common and widely distributed plant, and its
allies (e.g. soft/false bracken, Calochlaena dubia)
in the regeneration of cleared land, has not been
as comprehensively researched or documented.
This article aims to highlight some positive roles
that these plants can play in the regeneration of
neglected pastures back to bushland as a pioneer
ground cover. Bracken fern has certain habitat
values, soil stabilisation qualities and appears to
act as an early establishment weed suppressant.
Description
In the Dennstaedtiaceae family, Pteridium is a genus
of terrestrial ferns whose distribution extends
worldwide, incorporating about seven species.
Bracken is a perennial fern whose numerous
fronds arise from the underground stems on
hard brown stalks, which grow a metre tall. It
has an extensive system (up to 30 –60 m²) of
scaly rhizomes. Bracken species occur in a wide
range of habitat types with no particular geology,
soil type or climate apparently preferred. Austral
bracken essentially regenerates and spreads from
rhizomes. There are three species recognised in
Queensland, with only one occurring in SEQ
(Pteridium esculentum). Bracken can be easily
confused with soft bracken (Calochlaena dubia),
which is not poisonous to stock and as the name
suggests has much softer fronds.
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