Rytidosperma fulvum

Rytidosperma fulvum, known as copper-awned wallaby-grass, is a tufted perennial grass of the family Poaceae and one of the more than eighty species placed in the largely Australasian genus Rytidosperma. Like other wallaby-grasses it forms dense, fine-leaved tussocks of narrow, rolled or flat blades arising from a fibrous root system, with culms bearing open or contracted panicles of awned spikelets. The lemmas are characteristically two-lobed and bear a geniculate central awn flanked by lateral bristles; in this species the awns take on a tawny copper tone that gives the plant its common name. Each spikelet typically holds several florets enclosed by membranous glumes. The species is native to temperate Australia, where it grows in open grasslands, woodland understoreys and disturbed pastures, often on well-drained soils. Like its congeners it provides forage and contributes to native grassland communities.