Sporobolus natalensis (Giant Rat's Tail Grass)

Native to Africa, giant rat's tail grass is a long, upright grass that forms large tussocks. Like other weedy sporobolus grasses, it is an aggressive grass that can reduce pasture productivity and significantly degrade natural areas.

Giant rat's tail grass was introduced to Australia around the early 1960s in contaminated pasture seed. S. natensis is now found from Rockhampton in Queensland to Port Maquarie in New South Wales, while S. pyramidalis is found from Cooktown in Queensland to the New South Wales central coast. Ecoclimatic modelling suggests giant rat's tail grass is suited to conditions present in 30% of Australia (223 million hectares).

Giant rat's tail grass is a restricted invasive plant under the Biosecurity Act 2014.

Other restricted rat’s tail grasses are giant Parramatta grass (S. fertilis) and American rat’s tail grass (S. jacquemontii). These species are less common in Queensland than giant rat’s tail grass.