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The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system, WAHerb, and DBCA’s flora taxonomic names application, WACensus, have been set to read-only mode since 1 October 2025. Recent taxonomic changes are not currently being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or the census. Due to the rapidly approaching holiday season and associated agency and facility soft closures, along with the substantial work involved in data mapping, cleaning, and verification, the migration to the new collection management software is not expected to occur before 1 March 2026, when a further update will be provided. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

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Pennisetum villosum Fresen.
Feathertop

This name is not current. Find out more information on related names.

Reference
Mus.Senckenberg. 2:134-135 (1836)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Alien to Western Australia
Name Status
Not Current

Rhizomatous, tufted perennial, grass-like or herb, 0.3-1 m high. Fl. yellow/purple, Feb to Oct. Sand, loam, sandy clay. Cultivated in gardens but also a weed of disturbed habitats.

Grazyna Paczkowska, Descriptive Catalogue, 2 December 1993
Image

Management Notes (for the Swan NRM Region)

General Biology. Growth form. Grass. Life form. Perennial, rhizomatous/caespitose. Reproduction. Seed and rhizomes. Dispersal. Wind, animals, clothing, soil on vehicle tyres and machinery, roadside slashing/mowing. Photosynthetic Pathway. C4. Seedbank persistence. Possibly less than 12 months. Fire response. Resprouts.

Notes. Spreads rapidly into disturbed areas. Widespread and locally common on roadsides and pastural areas in parts of New South Wales, Victoria, southern Queensland and South Australia.

Additional information. Origin. North Africa. History of use/introduction. Ornamental. Similar exotic species. Pennisetum setaceum.

Suggested method of management and control. Individual plants can be manually removed. Best controlled as an immature plant, following fire and/or prior to flowering and seed set. Spray with 1% gyphosate. Thick old tussocks may be easier to control if burnt or slashed down to 10cm above ground and allowed to reshoot before applying herbicide. Requires vigilant follow-up. Use unplanned fire events to effectively control any regrowth. Read the manufacturers' labels and material safety data sheets before using herbicides. For further information consult the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to determine the status of permits for your situation or state.

Management Calendar

Calendar Type Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Comments
Active Growth O O             Y Y Y Y  
Germination       Y Y Y Y Y          
Flowering Y Y Y O O O O O Y Y Y Y  
Fruiting Y Y Y               Y Y  
Optimum Treatment     Y Y Y O O O O Y Y Y  

Legend: Y = Yes, regularly, O = Occasionally, U = Uncertain, referred by others but not confirmed.

 

References

  • CRC Weed Management (2008) Weed Management Guide - Feathergrasses and mission grasses (Pennisetum species). CRC for Australian Weed Management, Canberra.
  • DeLaine, D. & Stokes, Z. (2006) Controlling Bushland Weeds on Lower Eyre Peninsula. Rural Solutions (S.A.), Adelaide. URL: http://www.pestandweed.com/pestandweed/pdf/Bushland_Weeds_Booklet_reduced.pdf - Accessed December 2007.
  • North West Weeds (2007) Foxtail - Longstyle feather grass. , Bingara, NSW. URL: http://www.northwestweeds.nsw.gov.au - Accessed December 2007. Noxious weed control unit, Gwydir and Inverell Shires.
  • Parsons, W.T. & Cuthbertson, E.G. (2001) Noxious weeds of Australia. 2nd Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
  • Transport South Australia (2000) Weeds of the Mid North. Feathertop Grass (Pennisetum villosum). Government of South Australia, Walkerville. URL: www.transport.sa.gov.au/pdfs/environment/weeds_mid_north.pdf - Accessed December 2007.