''Chionochloa'' is a genus of tussock grass in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

, found primarily in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

with one known species in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and another on

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

(part of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

). Some of the species are referred to as snowgrass or snow tussock. Most of the species in the genus grow in clumps, some up to 1.5 m tall. Red tussock dominates the tall tussock grasslands on the volcanic mountains of the North Island of New Zealand and can also be found in areas on the northern half of the South Island. Snow tussock, of which there are several species, can be found above the tree line together with other species. ; SpeciesKew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>The Plant List search for Chionochloa
/ref> ; formerly included see '' Rytidosperma'' * ''Chionochloa pallida – Rytidosperma pallidum''

References

Bunchgrasses of Australasia Grasses of New Zealand Poales of Australia Poaceae genera {{Poaceae-stub