''Austrostipa variabilis'' is a species of grass in the family

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

that grows in southern parts of Australia.

Description

It is a perennial tufted

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

, from in height. It has green or purple flowers.

Distribution and habitat

''Austrostipa variabilis'' is native to southern Australia. It is most common in the Southwest Botanical Province of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, but specimens have been recorded east across the

nullarbor The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...

, and even beyond

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is also native to South Africa. It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you. It grows in a range of habitats, including dunes and granite outcrops, and tolerates a range of soils.

Taxonomy

The type specimen of this species was collected early in the 19th century by James Drummond, from the vicinity of the Swan River. The species was not described, however, until 1921, when

Dorothy Kate Hughes Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series *Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Doroth ...

published it as ''Stipa variabilis''. This was its name until 1996, when the Australian species of ''

Stipa ''Stipa'' is a genus of 141 species of large Perennial plant, perennial hermaphrodite, hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, w ...

'' were recognised as meriting their own genus. Thus ''

Austrostipa ''Austrostipa'' is a primarily Australian genus of plants in the grass family, commonly called speargrass. The genus includes species formerly included in the genus ''Stipa ''Stipa'' is a genus of 141 species of large Perennial plant, per ...

'' was erected, and this and other species transferred into it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austrostipa Variabilis variabilis Bunchgrasses of Australasia Angiosperms of Western Australia Flora of South Australia