Naked woolybutt grass
Eragrostis eriopoda
Family: Poaceae
What it is like
A grass which keeps growing from year to year. It forms tussocks. These clumps spread out the the centre dies. It grows 60 cm high. It has coarse hairy roots. It has a dense woolly base. The stems are erect and wiry. The underground rhizomes have many branches. The leaves are 3-8 cm long by 0.2 cm wide. The leaves are narrow and rolled in at the edges. The tip is rigid. The seed head is 20 cm long by 7 cm wide. It tapers to a point. There are several spikelets. These are about 0.6-2.2 cm long. They are long and not woolly.
There are about 300 Eragrostis species.
Where it is found
It grows on spinifex sandplains. It can also be on river flood plains. It grows in arid and semiarid places. Clumps re-grow after fires. It grows in the tropics and subtropics. It can grow in arid places.
Countries/locations it is found in
Australia (country/location of origin)
How it is used for food
The seeds are ground into flour and mixed with water then baked to produce damper.
Edible parts
Seeds, cereal
How it is grown
Plants can be grown from seed or by division of the clump.
The seeds ripen in autumn or winter after summer rains. The seed heads are rubbed off and the chalf separated from the seeds by pounding and winnowing.
Its other names
Local names
Wangunu