Dancing Grass

Themeda triandra, Dancing or Kangaroo grass is widespread across Australia.

It was cultivated throughout the Australian wheat belt and across the southern portion of the Northern Territory and into Western Australia by First nations people for thousands of years.

I first heard about this grass reading Dark Emu and listening to talks by Bruce Pascoe who is developing it as a crop. On his farm in Yuin Country, Bruce is nurturing a harvest of Kangaroo grass, and other native species such as panicum (native millet), weeping grass, and murnong (yam daisy)

“You’re not ploughing, you’re not using diesel, you’re not using chemicals or poisons of any kind [because] they’re Australian plants … they like the amount of rain they get here, because this is where they were born, they don’t need any fertiliser [and] they don’t need any pesticides because the insects in Australia are their mates,” "If we started using Aboriginal agricultural know-how, it would go a long way to securing the environmental future of this country, that’s for sure.” Bruce Pascoe told NITV News.

Kangaroo grass seed can not only be harvested to produce flour for bread, but the plants can also be grazed by livestock. It is an extremely hardy and durable perennial native grass that is nutritious and its flour gluten free.