Illawarra is a real biodiversity hotspot, with many thousands of native species calling this place home. What a privilege to live among them! We live in a local government area with more than 2000 native plant species, hundreds of native mammals, and undocumented numbers of butterflies, bees, crickets, frogs, lizards and other critters. Many of these species are threatened and depend on the good will of humans to protect their habitat. So it's on each and every one of us to do what we can to protect and restore habitat for these awesome creatures. 

This week I'm featuring a local grass that makes outstanding habitat for small animals, and that can be grown even in a small garden, or on a verge, or in a pot on a balcony. It's the Tussock (Poa labillardierei). This clumping grass has delicate, narrow, fine grey-green leaves, that spread out from a central point. It's long-lived, hardy and very appealing in a garden setting, as the below image from Mat Misdale shows. 

It also has the most beautiful flower-heads, often numerous and rising well above the foliage. This photo taken by local photographer Tracey Lea for the Growing Illawarra Natives project shows how decorative the flower-heads can be. As the seeds ripen and develop, the whole seed-head turns silvery-golden, adding to its appeal. 

And it's not just people who find this grass attractive. It's also appealing to butterflies, with several species laying their eggs on the leaves so that the young larvae can munch hungrily away. A few nibbles on the leaves are worth it to see beauties such as the Common Brown butterfly and a range of pretty little Skipper and Grass-dart butterflies.

Growing several plants together is the best way to create habitat, and might even provide enough seed to attract groups of small seed-eating birds such as local finches. The dense, fine foliage also creates hidey-holes for little lizards and mammals. So all up, this grass is a biodiversity bonanza.