Nardus stricta
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
mat grass
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Detailed description
A perennial tufted grass. Leaf-blades very rough, bristly, dark green to bluish green, 4–30 cm long × 0.5–1 mm in diameter, the outer blades spreading out horizontally. Ligule short, white, firm. Auricle absent. Tillers packed on short rhizomes. Leaf-sheaths dull, rough and persistent. Flower-heads distinctive with 2 rows of spicules on one side of the panicle, forming a bristle.
Similar taxa
The bristle-like flowerheads are distinctive.
Habitat
Acid and damp but not permanently wet soils, e.g. edges of tarns, ephemeral wetlands, subalpine bogs, roadside ditches, damp soil and depressions on semi-natural tussock or pastoral land (Kissling et al. 2004).
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Year naturalised
1935
Origin
Eurasia
Reason for introduction
Accidental
Tolerances
Apparently not limited by topography or temperature extremes. Doesn’t seem to grow in areas with less than 500 mm average annual rainfall. Shade intolerant. In native range goes up to 3500 m a.s.l.
Life cycle and dispersal
Spreads by rhizome branching and fragmentation. Also seed, particularly when colonising bare ground (Kissling et al. 2004).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
stricta: From the Latin strictus ‘upright, stiff’
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
NARSTR
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Kissling WD, Scnittler M, Seddon PJ, Dickinson KJM, Lord JM. 2004. Ecology and distribution of Nardus stricta L. (Poaceae) an alien invader into New Zealand. New Zealand Natural Sciences 29: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.26021/496.