Poa flabellata

Poa flabellata, commonly known as tussac grass or just tussac, is a tussock grass native to Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and other islands in the South Atlantic. There are also two isolated records from the herbarium at the French Muséum national d'histoire naturelle for the Île Amsterdam in the Indian Ocean.^[1]

Poa flabellata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Genus:	Poa
Species:	P. flabellata
Binomial name
Poa flabellata (Lam.) Hook.f.
Synonyms
Parodiochloa flabellata Festuca flabellata Dactylis caespitosa Dactylis coespitosa

It was introduced to Shetland,^[2] Scotland for basket making in 1844,^[3] and possibly as a source of fodder^[4] because of its ability to grow in hostile conditions.^{[citation needed]}.

Edward Gennys Fanshawe, tussac grass, Falkland Islands

It grows in dense clumps, usually about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) high (although they can be much taller), on wet coastal land and is a dominant feature of much of the landscape.

Associated organisms

The plant community dominated by P. flabellata is widely used by birds and mammals.

Breeding colonies of southern fur seal, elephant seal, Magellanic penguin, macaroni penguin, and albatrosses are all found amongst tussac grass on South Georgia and elsewhere. The austral thrush is predominantly found in this habitat on the Falkland Islands, with tussocks being used as nesting sites.^[5] The South Georgia pipit also uses the tussocks for nesting.

On South Georgia, it was a principal food of the introduced reindeer^[6] (which was eradicated in 2015) which had caused considerable environmental damage, including erosion and eventual replacement of tussac grass in places by the introduced annual meadow-grass.^[6]