Enneapogon nigricans

Enneapogon nigricans, known by the common names blackheads,[1] bottle washers, pappus grass,[1] purpletop grass,[1] and niggerheads,[3] is a perennial Australian grass.

Enneapogon nigricans
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Enneapogon
Species:
E. nigricans
Binomial name
Enneapogon nigricans
Synonyms[1][2]

Distinctive lance-shaped seedheads appear in late spring and summer. They form at the top of wiry stalks over 30 cm long. They start as an olive green colour, but dry to a light brown. The seed itself is much like a parasol in appearance, and is around 5mm across. Germination is slow and unreliable and requires warm temperatures.[4]

Leaves are smooth and of a bright, light green. Plants like sunny positions and generally grow in sunny, open mallee forests. Plants form tall dense tussocks to a maximum of only 20 cm across.[5] They die down in late summer, before reshooting when the rains return.

References
  1.  Under its current treatment as Enneapogon nigricans (from its basionym Pappophorum nigricans) this species was published in Essai d'une Nouvelle Agrostographie 161. 1812. "Enneapogon nigricans". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  2.  Pappophorum nigricans (the basionym of Enneapogon nigricans) was originally described and published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae 185. 1810. "Pappophorum nigricans". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  3. Enneapogon nigricans. USDA PLANTS.
  4. "The Native Plants of Adelaide". Department for Environment and Heritage. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  5. Plants of the Adelaide Plains and Hills. Library of South Australia. Accessed 21 March 2011.


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