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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 ;

Poa flabellata, commonly known as tussac grass or just tussac, is a tussock grass native to southern South America, 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]

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]}.

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]

References

^ "Poa flabellata occurrence records". GBIF.
^ Stace (2010) pp. 1013-1014
^ "Poa flabellata". On-line Atlas of the British Flora.
^ Stace & Crawley (2015) p. 445-446
^ Collar (2005) pp. 677-678
^ ^a ^b Christie, Darren (2010). Reindeer on South Georgia, Literature Review and Discussion of Management Options (PDF). Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2015-04-13.

Bibliography

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Edmondson, J. R. (1980). "Poa". In T. G. Tutin; V. H. Heywood; N. A. Burges; D. H. Valentine; S. M. Walters; D. A. Webb (eds.). Alismataceae to Orchidaceae. Flora Europea. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1159–1167.
Greene, Stanley W. (1964). The vascular flora of South Georgia. British Antarctic Survey.
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Moore, D. M. (1968). The vascular flora of the Falkland Islands. British Antarctic Survey Scientific Reports. 60: 1–202, 1–6 pls.
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