Victorian Resources Online (archived)
Rat’s-Tail Couch
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| Rat's-Tail Couch photos | Family: Grass (Poaceae syn. Gramineae) |
| Scientific Name: | Sporobolus mitchellii | ||||||
Other Common Names: | Swamp Rat-tail Grass, River Couch, Short Rat-tail Grass, Creeping Sporobolus, Condamine Couch | ||||||
Status: | Native to Australia. | ||||||
Plant Description: | Tufted or stoloniferous, perennial grass to 50 cm tall, with flat, slightly rough, dull green leaves 1-10 cm Long and 1-2.5 mm wide; ligule 0.5 mm long, often with longer hairs to the side. Inflorescence, a narrow spike-like panicle, 2-12 cm long and 3-8 mm wide. Spikelets 2-2.5 mm long, dull, straw coloured or greyish, single flowered. | ||||||
| Habitat: | Occasional on the edges or moist beds of lakes and swamps or along river banks and on floodplains and table-drains in the Wimmera, Mallee and northern plains of Victoria. Often on heavy clay soils or on clay loams where wet.
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Comments: | Similar to the near coastal grass, Salt Couch (S. virginicus) but less salt tolerant. | ||||||
 Dried-off patch of Rat's-tail couch in Sea barley-grass Photo: A J Brown |  Rat's-tail Couch - flowerheads Photo: A J Brown |
 Rat's-tail Couch - flowering spike-like panicles Photo: A J Brown |  Rat's-tail Couch - stolons Photo: A J Brown |
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