Enneapogon nigricans

Enneapogon nigricans is a tussock-forming perennial grass in the Poaceae, subfamily Chloridoideae, native to Australia and known by the common names blackheads, bottle washers, pappus grass and purpletop grass. Plants form tall dense tussocks to a maximum of about 20 centimeters across, with smooth bright light-green leaves and wiry flowering culms exceeding 30 centimeters tall. The distinctive lance-shaped inflorescences appear in late spring and summer and bear small parasol-like seeds about 5 millimeters across, each lemma terminating in the nine plumose awns that give the genus its name. The species occupies sunny positions in open mallee woodland and grassland and shows a marked seasonal dormancy, dying back in late summer before regenerating from the rootstock when autumn and winter rains return. Seed germination proceeds slowly and unreliably and requires warm temperatures.