Enneapogon nigricans
Encyclopedia
Enneapogon nigricans, known by the common name of 'blackheads', or 'bottle washers', is a perennial Australian grass
.
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.
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. They die down in late summer, before reshooting when the rains return.
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
.
Distinctive lance shaped seedheads appear in late spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
and summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
. 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
Germination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
is slow and unreliable and requires warm temperatures.
Leaves are smooth and of a bright, light green. Plants like sunny positions and generally grow in sunny, open mallee
Mallee
Mallee may refer to:* Mallee , the habit of woody plants that grow with multiple stems from underground lignotubers* Mallee , a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia...
forests. Plants form tall dense tussocks to a maximum of only 20 cm across. They die down in late summer, before reshooting when the rains return.