Invader or feeder? Grass takes root in arid zone

Invader or feeder? Grass takes root in arid zone

It’s the grass Australians love to hate. Known to botanists as cenchrus ciliaris, the mere mention of its common name—buffel grass —can strike fondness, fear and frustration into the hearts of Australians who make their homes far from the narrow coastal strip where 80% of us live. Native to parts of Africa and Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwest India, buffel has been sown across the globe as a pasture grass and for soil conserva…