Heteropogon triticeus

Heteropogon triticeus, giant spear grass, is a robust tufted perennial grass of the Poaceae native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and northern Australia. The plant forms dense clumps with stout, erect culms reaching 1 to 2.5 m, arising from a knotty, shortly rhizomatous base. Leaf blades are flat, 30 to 60 cm long and up to 2 cm wide, with rough margins and a prominent midrib; the leaf sheaths are smooth and the ligule is a short, ciliate membrane. The inflorescence is a solitary, often paired or digitate terminal raceme bearing dense, awned spikelets; the fertile spikelets have a long, twisted, geniculate awn—up to 10 cm—and a sharp, bearded callus that aids self-burial in soil. It grows in open savannas, grasslands, and seasonally dry woodland, often in fire-prone habitats.