''Triodia pungens'', commonly known as soft spinifex, is a species of grass native to

northwestern Australia The North West, North West Coast, North Western Australia and North West Australia, are usually informal names for the northern regions of the State of Western Australia. However, some conceptions of "North West Australia" have included adjoi ...

. The plant is currently being researched due to its resinous properties as a

Termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

timber coating. Other research and applications are as a latex enhancer and bitumen adhesive. In its natural habitat, the Spinifex is used by local Indigenous people as a weapon and housing adhesive. Originally described by botanist

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

in his 1810 work ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

'', ''Triodia pungens'' still bears its original binomial name.

References

pungens Bunchgrasses of Australasia Endemic flora of Australia Poales of Australia Plants described in 1810 {{Chloridoideae-stub