Sweet Vernal-grass

Scientific Name:

Anthoxanthum odoratum

Sweet Vernal-grass in mixture of grasses
Photo: A J Brown

Status:

Native to Europe and Asia.

Plant Description:

Tufted or shortly rhizomatous perennial grass with smells of coumarin when crushed. Leaves are hairless or sparsely hairy, flat and grow to 20 cm long and 2-8 mm wide. Flower-heads are dense, spike-like panicles, 2-10 cm long. Spikelets have 3 flowers but only one is fertile. The sterile spikelets are awned; one being straight to 2-4 mm long and the other sharply bent and 6-9 mm long.

Habitat:

Common weedy species of pastures and waste ground throughout the cooler parts of the State. Often found as part of fringing vegetation around lakes and swamps and along water courses but doesn’t appear to be particularly tolerant of waterlogging. Is tolerant of acid soils.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Central and Northern, Western, Gippsland	S0	W0, W1

Photos of Sweet Vernal-grass

Newly emerging flower-head of Sweet Vernal-grass Photo: A J Brown	Florets of Sweet Vernal-grass with exserted anthers and stigmas Photo: A J Brown
Flower-head of Sweet Vernal-grass Photo: A J Brown	Ligule and leaf blade of Sweet Vernal-grass Photo: A J Brown

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