I don’t know why but I have always thought of Wallaby Grass as the little brother to Kangaroo Grass. I adore native grasses, they are such an important part of a native planting palette, providing texture and movement and they play crucial role as a food source for wildlife.

This sweet little native grass is Rytidosperma racemosum or Austrodanthonia racemosa – Wallaby Grass, it can be found growing in Grows in grasslands, woodlands and forests throughout Victoria, NSW and SA, with smaller distributions in Qld, Tas and WA.

The Pale green spikelets, arrive in September and can carry through until Autumn, these images were take in Melbourne Botanic Gardens in March. The seed heads Provides food for seed-eating birds including the red-browed finch and will also attracts larvae-eating birds.

The tufty foliage is a habitat refuge for small lizards and Wallaby Grass is also a

Butterfly (caterpillar) host species.

Wallaby Grass small tussock-forming grass at around 0.5m x 0.5m the green leaves are quite weeping and the fluffy seed heads add an ornamental element . It Prefers full sun to dappled shade but tolerates most growing conditions and can even take some foot traffic and mowing if being used in a native lawn situation.

In the past, the leaves of Wallaby Grasses were regularly eaten (pruned) by wallabies, so will benefit from being cut back to about 5cm in mid- to late Autumn. Cutting back earlier risks the sun burning the parts where the new leaves will grow from. So there you go, why not add a few to your native meadow or as a feature amongst flowering ground covers, it is very hardy and quick growing.