''Austrostipa'' is a primarily
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
genus of plants in the
grass family
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
, commonly called speargrass.
The genus includes species formerly included in the genus ''
Stipa.'' All known species are native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, most of them found nowhere else. One species ''(A. variabilis)'' is, however, found in
South Africa as well as in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and two species ''(A. setacea + A. stipoides)'' are native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand. The group likely originated in Australia approximately 20 million years ago.
; Species
Atlas of Living Australia, ''Austrostipa'' S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett Spear-grasses
/ref>
References
Bunchgrasses of Australasia
Poaceae genera
{{Pooideae-stub