Cape grass

Staberoha cf. distachyos

Scientific name

Tufted perennial, growing on the mountain slopes of the Western Cape.

This species belongs to the restio family, making it a evergreen, rush-like plant that is restricted to the Southern Hemisphere.

Staberoha distachyos increases in germination in response to plant-derived smoke.

Restios do not like there roots disturbed and do not like be planted in small holes in lawns. They are however robust growers do not seem to be plagued by soil-born fungi or other diseases.

Main requirements for successfully growing restios are full sun, well-drained soil and air movement.

Information sourced from 'Grow Fynbos Plants' by Neville Brown and Graham Duncan, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, 2006.

Propagation instructions

By seed

Use fresh, mature seed. Seeds may be pre-soaked in aqueous smoke extract of commercial smoke seed primer for 24 hours before sowing, or seeds may be smoked once sown in trays. Fill trays with loam/composted milled pine bark/sand mixture in a proportion of 1:2:2 that will be well drained. Seeds should ne covered with a thin layer of milled bark. Incubate seeds under alternating night/day temperatures of 8 Degrees Celcius and 23 Degrees Celcius for optimum germination.

By cutting

Restios can be propagated vegetatively by division. Plants should be divided into fairly large pieces, the roots undisturbed and planted out immediately in the open ground or in containers. After transplanting, the plants should be kept well watered until the new shoots are growing and the plant has taken. Generally the plants take up to a year to start growing again and do not seem to grow as vigorously as plants raised from seed.

References and further reading

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