Lomandra

[Trilobite]

Does anyone feed the seed heads from the native lomandra plant to thier finches. It is flowing at present and still in milk stage, I dont see any locals taking it so was wondering if it wasnt good for them etc. Anyone with some experience in using it for finches would be appreciated if you could make some comments.

[VR1Ton]

I'm not aware know of any toxicty from the seed, so should be alright, but in saying that I've never seen anything eating them either, can't say I blame them, would be a little painful be hit by one of those spikes.

[GregH]

I'm also not aware of it being toxic but that's not to say it hasn't been implicated in cattle poisoning. Certainly lomandra is not a grass and I've only seen birds feeding on nectar in some species but I don't think there is enough seed t make it worth while as a seed source for finches. Hopefully somone will have an answer for you or you can do the experiment.

[west finch]

Hi Trilobite I have some growing in my aviary and was just wondering the same thing ? mine is just putting up flower spikes will try and see if my finches eat it.

[natamambo]

L. longifolia, one of the most common, was used as a bush tucker by the Aborigines, it's seeds were ground for flour.

[Tintola]

Not sure about the edibility of the seed but the plant itself, as a large clump, can be a death trap. Especially for young doves and pigeons, kingfishers or anything that can't climb out when stuck between those slippery, sharp leaves. Be warned particularly with L. longifolia. I sometimes place a lot of twiggy debris into the centre of the clump so that birds don't get stuck.

[natamambo]

Thanks Tint, that's a great hint. I have several ssp growing in wren and chat flights.

[Trilobite]

HI all,
Seems that several people have the plant in the avairy. Agree with the death trap/slippery leaves and young birds etc. I dont have it in the avairy but have heaps on the block in milk seed at present. While there are various reports of indigenous perople using the seed and the white leaf bases for food and water etc, I don t want to risk some form of toxicity either chronic or acute. I guess acute would be tracable to the introduction of seeding heads to the aviry but dont think that ths sort of trial is appropriate.
To those that have had it in their avairy as a plant have you had any ill effects apart from the plants ability to trap young birds. Do the seed heads get eaten when the plant flowers in the aviary.

[Tintola]

I have never had anything eat it except large parrots and sometimes pheasants eat the leaves. Generally it is too tough for most birds to tackle.

Lomandra longifolia, commonly known as Spiny-head Mat-rush, Spiky-headed Mat-rush[1] or Basket Grass is a perennial, rhizomatous herb found throughout eastern Australia. The leaves are 40 cm to 80 cm in long, and generally have a leaf of about 8mm to 12mm wide [2]. It grows in a variety of soil types and is frost, heat and drought tolerant.[3] Labillardiere described Lomandra longifolia from a specimen collected in Tasmania.[4]

This strappy leaf plant is often used on roadside plantings in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and the USA, due to its high level of drought tolerance. The breeding of more compact finer leaf forms has made Lomandra longifolia popular as an ever green grass like plant in home plantings. Tanika, Lomandra longifolia 'LM300' also known as Breeze Grass in the USA, was the first fine leaf type. It still has the finest leaf of any Lomandra longifolia, with a width of 3mm.[5] In temperatures down to Minus 7 degrees Celsius these plants stay evergreen, and this variety has been recorded to live in the USA at a number of sites including Alabama, at minus 10 degrees Celsius. They need pruning every 3 to 4 years. The best way to prune them is to cut the back half way into a ball shape. After pruning they look very architectural.[6]

Indigenous Australians ground the seeds for use in damper, and the long, flat, fibrous leaves were used for weaving. The base of the leaves contains water, and was chewed by those in danger of dehydration.[1]