In recent years, native grasses have become increasingly popular for home gardens. Barbed Wire Grass, Cymbopogon refractus, is a native, long lived, perennial tussock grass, not dissimilar to another popular native grass, Themeda triandra Kangaroo Grass.

The inflorescences (arrangement of flowers) are curious, some angled upwards, some spreading widely away from the stem and yet others reflexed downwards, so that the clusters are quite reminiscent of the barbs of a barbed wire fence, albeit without the rigidity and the sharp spines. Hence the common name Barbed Wire Grass.

Barbed Wire Grass is interesting in other ways too. It may be an Australian native, widespread in eastern Australia, but it does have some famous relatives. If you crush and smell a leaf, it’s strongly aromatic, and smells of citrus, with perhaps a hint of ginger. You would be correct in guessing that it’s a very close relation of Lemon Grass, Cymbopogon citratus, the herb about which we are now so passionate, and an essential in south- east Asian cuisine.

Another interesting relative is Citronella Grass, Cymbopogon nardus, a much taller grass from Indonesia. This is the source of the insect repellent (especially for mosquitoes) citronella oil. Geraniol and citronellol, the principal chemical constituents of citronella, are used in soaps and disinfectants.

Barbed Wire Grass is common in Eucalyptus woodlands, and can grow on a wide range of soils of low fertility. It is also a useful fodder plant, as long as it isn’t grazed continuously. It has become naturalised on Pacific Islands, including Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Tahiti and Hawaii.

Native Seeds: https://www.nativeseeds.com.au/shop/landscaping/barbed-wire-grass- cymbopogon-refractus/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbopogon Map modified from Atlas of Living Australia: http://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?q=lsid%3Aurn%3Alsid%3Abiodiversity.org.au %3Aapni.taxon%3A416223#