ORIGIN

South America

COMMON NAME

Purple pampas grass

BOTANICAL NAME

Cortaderia jubata

IDENTIFICATION

Tall cutting grass with large fluffy seed heads. Flowers late January, always bright purple fading to dirty brown. Can be distinguished from native species by its large size and erect flower heads. Introduced species have leaves which curl at the base of the plant when they are dead. Native toetoe is easily distinguished by the waxy surface on the leaf sheaths and also the golden flower heads. Can be confused with pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) which flowers later and has a flower head more variable in shape and colour. The leaves of purple pampas are deep green on both surfaces and the sheaths of mature plants have long hairs. It is often a smaller plant when mature and the majority of the leaf tips will touch the ground, whereas in C. selloana most of the leaf tips are at various heights above the ground.

HABITATS

Key communities are coastal and lowland shrub and forest margins, sand dunes and hinterland, cliffs, bluffs, riverbeds, inshore islands and coastal areas, disturbed forest and shrublands, sand dunes, roadsides, railway lines, farm hedges, quarries, wasteland, exotic plantations. Widespread and abundant.

IMPACT TO BIOTA AND ECOSYSTEMS

Invades disturbed areas and open rocky sites. Spreads quickly. Competes with and smothers other vegetation. Creates a fire hazard with excessive build-up of dry material (dry leaves, leaf bases and flowering stalks). Impacted in particular are plants growing in rocklands e.g. coastal cliffs, coastal dunes etc. A threat to islands as dense colonies can form.

DISPERSAL ROUTES, VECTORS, INFESTATION SOURCES

Seed dispersed by gravity, wind, vertebrate animals. Pampas has no set routes of dispersal. Harvesting of exotic plantations creates opportunity for seed germination. Grazing of cattle on coastal dunes in pine forests causes problems as cattle eat the native toetoe allowing displacement by introduced species. Large seed production per plant.

MANAGEMENT

Physical Control
Small plants are easily grubbed out. Control large areas of infestation by grazing cattle in the area i.e. in pine plantations and wastelands (see warning above). Remove large plants with a digger.

Disposal
Compost or mulch.

Chemical Control
Can be sprayed using Gallant or Glyphosate + Penetrant. Complete coverage is required to achieve good results. Alternatively graze, cut or burn foliage and spray regrowth. Control exacerbates fire hazard.

(i) Glyphosate + Penetrant

Rate - 1.5 litres Glyphosate + 200 mls Penetrant/100 litres water.

(ii) Gallant (Controls grasses and some sedges; ineffective on broadleaf spp.)

Rate - Handgun 1 litre Gallant + 500 mls Uptake oil or crop oil/100 litres water. Knapsack 150 mls Gallant + 50 mls crop oil/10 litres water.

For further information and control methods please refer to Environment Bay of Plenty's Fact Sheet PP20-Pampas

Biological Control

Recommended Approach
Grub out small plants. For larger infestations spray with Gallant or Glyphosate.

FURTHER COMMENT

Pampas should be distinguished from native toetoe to protect native species from destruction.

For further information please refer to Environment Bay of Plenty's Fact Sheet PP20-Pampas

This plant is prohibited from propagation, sale and distribution within New Zealand!