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Story: Grasslands

Carpet grass

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Carpet grass

This carpet grass (Chionochloa australis) is growing in the mountains of north-west Nelson. As their name suggests, they form mats, rather than tussocks. They grow in herbfields, tussock grasslands and sometimes cushion bogs, at altitudes of 700–1,675 metres in the mountains from Nelson to north-west Canterbury.

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Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua

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How to cite this page

Alan F. Mark, Grasslands – Types of tussock, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/13355/carpet-grass (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Alan F. Mark, published 1 March 2009.