May 3, I92v:\ Agricultural Gazette of N .S.W. 311 



Native Chloris Grasses. 

 Chloris truncata ia commonly called 8tar or Windmill grass, and it may 

 be found on any part of the coast, tablelands, or interior. It will grow on 

 both rich and poor soils, and is as aljundant on the clay soils of the county 

 of Cumberland as on the granitic soils of the South Coast or the rich alluvial 

 soils of the interior. In the western districts the pastoralist welcomes its 

 appearance in the early spring, when, with decent rains, its rapidity of 

 growth is remarkable. Although it breaks into flower quickly, this does not 

 appear to act to its detriment, as from a small plant it continues to grow in 

 circumference until quite a large turf of the grass is produced in some cases. 

 Stalks of flowers, however, are continually being produced, and this, combined 

 with the short' flag, makes it essentially a sheep grass. 



Star or Windmill grass comes very quickly on land that has been cultivated. 

 This is particularly evident on the wheat lands of the slopes and of New 

 England, and on the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. On such soils it 

 thrives much better than it does on uncultivated lands. Perennial rye 

 pastures in New England will, after a few years, be encroached upon by this 

 grass and by members of the Love grass family, but the grazing capacity of 

 the land is by no means reduced thereby. Good Chloris and Eragrostis 

 pastures will easily carry two sheep per acre during the summer months. 



Like all other members of the Chloris family this gi-ass is very sensitive to 

 frosts. Its season is practically over after May, and it is not again seen 

 until September or October. The seed is very fertile, but spasmodic in its 

 germination. It is extremely difficult to establish a cultivated pasture of the 

 grass. Its extension on pastoral land can, however, be easily eff'ected by 

 allowing it to seed. This is not a difficult matter, as it is continually seeding 

 during the summer months. The period of setting flowers and ripening seed 

 only extends over two or three weeks. Owing to its abundant inflorescence, 

 the fertility of the seed, and the manner in which the seed heads are blown 

 about by the wind, there is little danger (unlike many native grasses) of this 

 grass ever being killed out in New South Wales. 



Chloris acicularis (also called Star or Windmill grass) is confused by many 

 pastoralists with the foregoing. It is easily distinguished, however, from 

 Chloris truncata by its taller and more leafy flag, by its greater tussocky 

 habit, and by the fact that the flowers are all needle shaped or aciculate, 

 hence, in fact, its name. C. truncata is so-called because the flowers are 

 "truncate," i.e., they abruptly come to a point, thus giving the end of the 

 flowers a blunt appearance. The distinction between the flowers of the two 

 species can be well seen in the accompanying drawings. 



C. acicularis, although fairly cosmopolitan in habit, is not nearly as 

 abundant as C. truncata, which is probably due to the fact that the seeds of 

 the spikes do not shatter so readily when ripe, nor are ripe seeds produced 

 in such abundance as in C. truncata. From a palatability point of view the 

 grass is probably superior to the other native Chloris grasses in its young 

 stage. W'hen mature, however, its leaves are inclined to become rather 



