FEATHERTOP

(Pennisetum villosum)

(Photos: C. Schultz, Cape Jervis)

This is a tufted grass, up to 1 m tall, on the S.A. environmental weed list. The leaves are narrow, mostly hairless, and droopy. Where the leaf sheath meets the leaf blade is a ring of hairs, like a collar. The spiky seed-heads are up to 12cm in length, composed of long, feathery bristles. They are  greenish-white when young, fading to white, cream then a straw colour. The flower head is made up of lots of little spikelets, surrounded in turn by long whitish bristles. It is these bristles that give the plant its feathery appearance. The seeds, with their bristles, are dispersed by the wind, or carried on animals, clothing, vehicles, etc. This weed is similar to another weed, Fountain grass (Cenchus or Pennisetum setaceum). If you do like This is a tufted grass, up to 1 m tall, on the S.A. environmental weed list. The leaves are narrow, mostly hairless, and droopy. Where the leaf sheath meets the leaf blade is a ring of hairs, like a collar. The spiky seed-heads are up to 12cm in length, composed of long, feathery bristles. They are  greenish-white when young, fading to white, cream then a straw colour. The flower head is made up of lots of little spikelets, surrounded in turn by long whitish bristles. It is these bristles that give the plant its feathery appearance. The seeds, with their bristles, are dispersed by the wind, or carried on animals, clothing, vehicles, etc. This weed is similar to another weed, Fountain grass (Cenchus or Pennisetum setaceum). If you do like their feathery effect though, try planting Cenchus advena…this is a nonseeding hybrid, so it won’t become invasive!