Grass Trees

Grass Trees only native to Australia

"Live up to 350 to 450 years old"

Grass trees epitomize the Australian bush: they’re beautiful, ancient, hardy, thrive in nutrient-poor soils and respond to wildfire by flowering profusely. They're iconic plants, recognisable even to budding botanists.


All 66 species of grass tree are endemic to (only found in) Australia. They're all perennial, flowering plants. The smallest species grows to about 1m, others reach 6m tall. Most species are extremely slow growing. Studies of some of the taller species found that trunk height increases at about 0.8cm to 6cm per year, but this varies with local environmental conditions. In any event, grass trees are often very long-lived; some are estimated to be 350 to 450 years old!



Grass trees are found in all Australian states and territories, especially on the east and west coast. The Austral Grass Tree (X. australis) is one of the most widely distributed species, growing in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.




https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/grass-trees

Sadly grass trees do have threats

Populations of many species of grass tree have been devastated by Phytophthora cinnomonia, or Cinnamon Fungus. This fungus rots the roots of grass trees and causes dieback. The disease caused by this introduced plant root pathogen is often difficult to detect, and, more worryingly, its impact may be considerable before detected. In Australia Cinnamon Fungus infection threatens several plants with extinction.