United States / Grow / red tussock grass

red tussock grass (Chionochloa rubra)
Photo: (c) John Barkla, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

red tussock grass

Chionochloa rubra · Poaceae · all Chionochloa records · also called Red tussock · Wikipedia

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Red tussock receives an avoid recommendation on the evidence table. The Chionochloa rubra pack is limited evidence, so the result is shown with its source-depth boundary rather than as a genus-wide conclusion.

Same-form alternatives are cited under related plants. The genus index provides broader navigation, while the accepted rows remain specific to rubra. This arrangement keeps comparison, genus browsing, evidence depth, and the avoid direction in separate roles without borrowing facts from another tussock record. The red tussock account remains the boundary for all three selected facts and their interpretation.

Fire-resistant grasss instead

Form
grass
Region
New Zealand
Rated in
Global; New Zealand
Uses
ornamental
On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence
Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Evidence regions
Global; New Zealand

2. Why this plant is relevant here

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (1)

Listed without a rating (6)
Corroboration (6 rows from 1 source)
  • FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

    6 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.

    • Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.

      Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-14; sampling summer.

      • Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.

        • “temperature at smoke (°C): 148”

          FLAMITS record 8332.

        • “temperature at smoke (°C): 292.76”

          FLAMITS record 8333.

        • “temperature at flaming (°C): 238.92”

          FLAMITS record 8547.

        • “temperature at flaming (°C): 389.4”

          FLAMITS record 8548.

      • Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.

        • “temperature increase rate (°C/s): 11.67”

          FLAMITS record 8762.

        • “temperature increase rate (°C/s): 6.45”

          FLAMITS record 8763.

Fire-resistant grasss instead

Fire-resistant grasss listed above

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia · ITIS

Chionochloa rubra (Red tussock). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/chionochloa-rubra/. Last verified 2026-08-23.