Guildford Grass
Common name
Guildford Grass
Scientific Name
Romulea rosea
Type of plant
Bulbs or Corms
About this weed
This perennial weed renews each year from corms and is common in the South West Region especially in bushland, roadside verges, lawns and gardens and agricultural pastures. During spring bright pink flowers open at ground level and as they mature the flower stem elongates and bends over eventually allowing the seed capsule to fall to the ground. It is another southern African bulb that was probably introduced with garden plants.
Description
It is a small plant growing to a height of about 0.25 m high. It produces numerous simple bright pink flowers. The corm is renewed annually and it reproduces by seed and corm. The time to first flowering is 2 years and the seedbank persists for up to 5 years. It will generally survive fire.
Impact on Bushland
If left may spread over bushland and impact on ecological processes and plant communities.
Location
This weed is distributed widely across the South-West Province. Guildford Grass grows in a variety of soils including white-grey sandy loam or clay, brown-red sandy loam, gravel, laterite, granite and limestone. It is found in urban gardens, hills, on the coastal plains, roadsides and pasture land.
Priority for removal
Unknown:
Management (hand)
Not available.
Management (herbicide)
Spot spray metsulfuron methyl 0.2 g/15 L + Pulse® or 2.5-5 g/ha + Pulse® . Apply just on flowering at corm exhaustion. Read the manufacturers’ labels and material safety data sheets before using herbicides. Optimal months to spray are July and August.
Flowering month/s
August, September, October
Flower colour/s
Blue, Red, Pink, Purple
Information source
https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/1556
Additional information
https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/weeds/swanweeds/
