Quaking Grasses

Scientific Name:

Briza spp.

Spikelets of Lesser Quaking Grass

Status:

Native to the Mediterranean region.

Plant Description:

Tufted annual grasses with hairless leaves to 20 cm long and 10 mm wide. Flower-heads are slender, open, panicles with capillary branches. Spikelets are plump and drooping. Two species in Victoria: Large Quaking Grass or Shelly Grass (Briza maxima) has 7-20 flowered spikelets, 10-25 mm long and 8-15 mm wide; Lesser Quaking Grass (Briza minor) has 4-8 flowered spikelets, 3-5 mm long and wide.

Habitat:

Widespread (except for the Mallee) and common grasses, growing in waste-land, roadsides and other disturbed areas. Also found on the edges of swamps, lakes and water courses. Generally indicative of fresh-water habitats, these grasses may be found on the fringes of wet saline areas.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Central and Northern, Wimmera, Western, Gippsland	S0, *S1	W1, W2

*may be found on or fringing saline sites during the wetter parts of the year

Quaking Grasses photos

Flower-head of Large Quaking Grass
Photo: A J Brown

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