What is buttongrass?
Buttongrass is a tough sedge that forms vast moorlands across western and southwestern Tasmania. It grows in clumps topped by round, button-like flower heads on tall stems.
Buttongrass, Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus, is not a true grass but a sedge. It thrives in wet, acidic, nutrient-poor peat soils, covering about a million hectares of Tasmania.
Buttongrass moorlands give the southwest its open, golden-brown look. They are home to animals such as the ground parrot, the endangered orange-bellied parrot, and burrowing crayfish.
Fire and water
The moorlands burn easily and recover quickly after fire. Aboriginal Tasmanians used fire to maintain them for thousands of years.
Tannins from buttongrass peat stain the rivers and lakes of western Tasmania a dark tea colour, creating the mirror-like reflections seen on Gordon River cruises.
Walkers on the Overland Track, the South Coast Track and other routes cross buttongrass plains, often on boardwalks that protect the boggy ground. Walking through untracked buttongrass is slow and tiring, as the tussocks are tall and the mud between them deep. Too-frequent fire can turn moorland peat to ash, so managers plan burns carefully.
Did You Know?
Buttongrass moorlands are part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.