Panicum decompositum

Panicum decompositum, native millet or Australian millet, is a tufted perennial grass of the Poaceae family endemic to inland Australia, where it occurs across arid and semi-arid plains, floodouts, and clay soils throughout much of the continent. It forms dense bluish-green tussocks 30-120 cm tall, with erect to slightly geniculate culms arising from short rhizomes. Leaves are flat, glaucous, 10-30 cm long and 3-10 mm wide, with smooth or slightly scabrous margins and a membranous ligule. The diffuse, much-branched panicle inflorescence is 15-40 cm long, with fine, wiry, divergent branches bearing solitary spikelets 2-3 mm long at the tips, giving the seedhead a delicate, lacy appearance. After ripening, panicles often break off as tumbleweeds, dispersing the abundant ovoid grain. Highly drought-tolerant and palatable, it is among the most important indigenous grain grasses of Aboriginal Australia, traditionally harvested for flour, and remains a valuable pasture species.