{{short description|Species of plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Panicum effusum plant9 (8243439394).jpg |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Thacker, H. |date=2013 |title=''Panicum effusum'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T44392613A44489113 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T44392613A44489113.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> |genus = Panicum |species = effusum |authority = R.Br. |synonyms = ''Panicum convallium'' F.Muell. }} thumb|upright|A large area of ''Panicum effusum''
'''''Panicum effusum''''', commonly known as '''hairy panic''', is a grass native to inland Australia.<ref name="bidgeebush">{{cite book |title='Bidgee bush: an identification guide to common native plant species of the south western slopes of New South Wales |last=Walker |first=Karen |author2=Burrows, Geoff |author3=McMahon, Lynne |year=2001 |publisher=Greening Australia |location=Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory |isbn=1-875345-61-2 |page=88 }}</ref> It occurs in every mainland state,<ref name=nswflora>{{cite web |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Panicum~effusum |title=Panicum effusum R.Br. |work=New South Wales Flora Online |publisher=PlantNET |access-date=12 April 2010}}</ref> as well as New Guinea. In dry conditions, the fast-growing grass can become a tumbleweed.
==Description== Hairy panic is a perennial grass that reaches {{convert|70|cm}} high.<ref name=nswflora/> The leaves have tubercle-based hairs and are up to {{convert|5|–|30|cm}} long by {{convert|0.4|–|1|cm}} wide. The seed spikes are typically {{convert|5|–|50|cm}} long, with the spikelets {{convert|2|–|3|mm}} long.<ref name="bidgeebush"/>
==Taxonomy== Prolific Scottish botanist Robert Brown described ''Panicum effusum'' in his 1810 work ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''.<ref name="Brown 1810">{{cite book | last=Brown | first=Robert | author-link=Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) | year = 1810 | title = Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen | publisher = Richard Taylor and Company | location = London, United Kingdom |language= Latin |page=191 |url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2954347}}</ref> It still bears its original name. Ferdinand von Mueller described ''Panicum convallium'', which he recorded from the banks of the Torrens and Gawler Rivers, on the Murray River and along the Flinders Ranges, in 1855.<ref>{{cite journal|last=von Mueller|first=Ferdinand|date=1855|title=Description of fifty new Australian plants, chiefly from the colony of Victoria|journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science|volume=1|page=46|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43692563}}</ref>
Common names include branched panic, hairy panic, effuse panic, native millet and poison panic.<ref name="PwNSW">{{cite book|author1=Cunningham, Geoff M. |author2=Mulham, William E. |author3=Milthorpe, Peter L. |author4=Leigh, John H. |title=Plants of Western New South Wales|publisher=NSW Government Printing Service|location=Sydney, New South Wales|year=1981|pages=119–20|isbn=0-7240-2003-9}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== Found across Australia, particularly in the east and Papua New Guinea,<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" /> hairy panic occurs on low- to medium-nutrient clay soils over shale or conglomerate.<ref name=Benson2005/> Its large range, abundance and stable population mean that hairy panic is classified as ''Least Concern'' on the IUCN Red List, and in fact may be becoming more abundant.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
Hairy panic is found on the following ecoregions in Australia: Shrubland, grass downs, tropical savanna, desert, woodlands, lowland rainforest, tropical rainforests, montane grasslands, sub-alpine grassland, mangroves, xeric scrub and temperate rainforests.
==Ecology== ''Panicum effusum'' produces a dry, single-seeded, indehiscent fruit which is eaten by the stubble quail.<ref name=Benson2005>{{cite journal |author1=Benson, Doug |author2=McDougall, Lyn |year=2005 |title=Ecology of Sydney Plant Species Part 10: Monocotyledon familiesLemnaceae to Zosteraceae |journal=Cunninghamia |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=16–212 [161] |url=https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/RoyalBotanicGarden/media/RBG/Science/Cunninghamia/Volume%209%20-%202005/Cun9Ben016.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220194644/https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/RoyalBotanicGarden/media/RBG/Science/Cunninghamia/Volume%209%20-%202005/Cun9Ben016.pdf |archive-date=2016-02-20 }}</ref> The seeds are wind-borne, though can also be transported in mud on cars.<ref name=Benson2005/>
The flowering of this plant occurs during summer. It is highly drought-tolerant, but is sensitive to frost.
Under extremely dry conditions, the fast-growing grass becomes a tumbleweed (that has evolved to disperse seeds) and can become a nuisance in residential areas due to the accumulation of grass stalks.<ref name=BBC35600546>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35600546 |title=Australia town consumed by 'hairy panic' |date=17 February 2016 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=17 February 2016}}</ref> In February 2016, the town of Wangaratta, Victoria, was invaded by large numbers of tumbleweeds of the plant, which piled up to roof height in places.<ref name=BBC35600546/> Some residents blamed the problem on a local farmer who had failed to upkeep his paddock.<ref name=BBC35600546/>
Hairy panic uses C<sub>4</sub> carbon fixation,<ref name=nswag1>{{cite web | url=http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pastures/pastures-and-rangelands/native-pastures/native-grasses---plains/hairy-panic | title=Hairy panic | author=NSW Department of Primary Industries | work=Agriculture | publisher=NSW Government | access-date=19 February 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220194650/http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pastures/pastures-and-rangelands/native-pastures/native-grasses---plains/hairy-panic | archive-date=20 February 2016 }}</ref> giving it an advantage in conditions of drought and high temperature.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pastures/pastures-and-rangelands/native-pastures/what-are-c3-and-c4-native-grass | title=What are C3 and C4 Native Grass? | author=NSW Department of Primary Industries | work=Agriculture | publisher=NSW Government | access-date=19 February 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229021254/http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pastures/pastures-and-rangelands/native-pastures/what-are-c3-and-c4-native-grass | archive-date=29 February 2016 }}</ref>
==Uses== Hairy panic is a component of pastures, though not usually abundant. It is of moderate nutritional value to livestock.<ref name=nswag1/> Sheep consuming large quantities of hairy panic within 2–6 weeks of rain can suffer from photosensitivity and the fatal disease called yellow-bighead.<ref name="PwNSW"/><ref name=BBC35600546/>
It also has some bush food value. The seeds can be ground and baked. Although there are plenty of seeds they may not be easy to collect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/apu/plants/panieffu.html|title = Aboriginal Plant Use – Southern Tablelands and the ACT|date = February 2003}}</ref>
==See also== * ''Kali tragus'', a common species of tumbleweed in the United States
==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{Refbegin}} * http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Panicum~effusum {{Refend}}
==External links== *{{Wikispecies-inline}} *{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7131127}}
effusum Category:Poales of Australia Category:Flora of Queensland Category:Flora of New South Wales Category:Flora of Victoria (state) Category:Flora of South Australia Category:Flora of Western Australia Category:Flora of the Northern Territory Category:Tumbleweeds