Anemanthele lessoniana
Anemanthele lessoniana, commonly known as Gossamer Grass, Wind Grass, or Pheasant's Tail Grass, is one of New Zealand's most celebrated ornamental grasses. Known in te reo Māori as Hunangāmoho, this elegant evergreen perennial forms graceful clumps of arching foliage that changes from army green to dramatic bronze, orange, and red tints throughout the seasons. In summer, fine tawny seedheads emerge and arch gracefully within the foliage, creating a gossamer-like effect that gives the plant its common name. While naturally rare in the wild, it has gained worldwide recognition as an outstanding garden plant, earning the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit for its exceptional ornamental value and adaptability. native grasses of New Zealand
Image credit: Gossamer Grass (Anemanthele lessoniana). Wikipedia
| Scientific Name | Anemanthele lessoniana |
|---|---|
| Height | 60-90 cm |
| Spread | 90-140 cm |
| Water Needs | Low\ to\ moderate |
| Light | Full sun to partial shade |
| Frost Tolerance | Very hardy |
| Salt Tolerance | Low |
| Soil Type | Well-drained, adaptable to clay |
| Growth Rate | Moderate to fast |
| Flowering Time | Summer |
| Conservation Status | Naturally Rare |
| Lifespan | Long-lived perennial; often persists for decades |
Gossamer Grass is remarkably adaptable to various climatic conditions, making it suitable for most temperate regions. It thrives in New Zealand's varied climate zones and has proven successful in many international gardens. The plant is very hardy and can tolerate both drought conditions once established and occasional waterlogging, though it performs best with good drainage. It handles frost well and is deer resistant, making it an excellent choice for exposed or challenging garden sites.
| City | Climate Suitability |
|---|---|
| Whangārei | Ideal |
| Auckland | Ideal |
| Hamilton | Ideal |
| Tauranga | Ideal |
| Rotorua | Ideal |
| Gisborne | Ideal |
| New Plymouth | Ideal |
| Napier | Ideal |
| Whanganui | Ideal |
| Palmerston North | Ideal |
| Wellington | Ideal |
| Nelson | Ideal |
| Christchurch | Ideal |
| Dunedin | Moderate |
| Invercargill | Moderate |
One of the standout features of Gossamer Grass is its adaptability to various soil types. Unlike many ornamental grasses, it tolerates heavy clay soils as well as lighter, well-drained conditions. It grows in any moderately fertile, well-drained soil and is not particularly fussy about soil pH or fertility levels.
While Gossamer Grass can grow in partial shade, it performs best in full sun where it develops the most intense coloration. In partial shade, the plant tends to be more open in structure and maintains darker green coloring. Heavy shade should be avoided as it results in poor performance and a leggy, untidy appearance.
Water regularly during establishment, but once settled, the plant is remarkably drought tolerant. Avoid consistently wet soils, though occasional waterlogging is tolerated. The plant benefits from seasonal rainfall but doesn't require supplemental irrigation in most climates.
Gossamer Grass is incredibly versatile in garden design and has won acclaim for its ornamental value:
Pairs beautifully with perennials, shrubs, and other grasses. Excellent with late-season bloomers and plants that provide contrasting forms such as broad-leaved perennials and architectural plants.
Cut back old foliage in early spring before new growth begins. Apply native fertilizer or compost around the base. This is the ideal time for division and transplanting. Begin regular watering if conditions are dry.
Enjoy the emergence of feathery seedheads in summer. Water during extended dry periods, especially for newly planted specimens. The plant requires minimal care during this active growth period.
The foliage develops its most dramatic bronze, orange, and red coloring in autumn. Allow seedheads to remain for winter interest unless controlling self-seeding. Reduce watering as growth slows.
Leave attractive seedheads and colored foliage for winter interest. The plant is evergreen but may look less vigorous in harsh winters. Avoid disturbing the plant during dormancy period.
Gossamer Grass is remarkably low-maintenance, requiring minimal pruning to maintain its attractive appearance.
Cut back to ground level in late winter or early spring before new growth emerges. This can be done with hedge shears or by hand-pulling old foliage. Leave about 10-15 cm of stubble to protect new growth.
Seedheads can be left for winter interest or removed to prevent self-seeding. If controlling spread, remove seedheads before seeds mature and disperse on the wind.
Divide every 3-4 years to maintain vigor. Established clumps can be divided from mid-spring to early summer. Tough clumps can be sawn apart if necessary, with division reinvigorating the plant.
Plant from early spring to early fall, avoiding the peak of winter. Container-grown plants can be planted year-round in mild climates, but spring planting allows for best establishment.
Dig holes 50-75% deeper and wider than the container. Plant at the same depth as in the container, ensuring good root-to-soil contact. Space plants 90-140 cm apart to allow for mature spread.
Choose a site with full sun for best coloration and performance. Ensure adequate drainage, though the plant tolerates various soil conditions. Avoid areas prone to standing water.
Water regularly for the first growing season to encourage deep root development. Mulch lightly around the base to suppress weeds and conserve moisture. Avoid over-fertilizing which can reduce drought tolerance.
Gossamer Grass can be propagated through both division and seed, with division being the most reliable method:
The most successful method is division of established clumps. Divide plants from mid-spring to early summer when actively growing. Break apart clumps with roots attached, ensuring each division has healthy growing points. Pot up divisions for several weeks before planting out.
Seeds can be collected from mature seedheads and sown fresh for best results. Sow lightly covered in containers in a cold frame in spring, or use the indoor method with moist compost, vermiculite cover, and germination at 20-25°C for 4-12 weeks.
The plant often naturalizes in gardens through self-seeding. Wind readily carries the light seeds to new locations. Monitor for unwanted seedlings if spread control is desired.
Anemanthele lessoniana is known in te reo Māori as Hunangāmoho and is documented in traditional Māori plant knowledge systems. As part of the Ngā Rauropi Whakaoranga database, it represents one of the many native plants that held significance in traditional Māori life and understanding of the natural world.
Endemic to New Zealand, Gossamer Grass is found naturally in both the North Island (from North Auckland, Waikato, and the southern third) and South Island (from Nelson and Marlborough south, mainly in eastern regions). While naturally rare in the wild, its exceptional garden value has led to widespread cultivation.
The plant has gained international acclaim, earning the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. This recognition acknowledges its outstanding ornamental value, ease of cultivation, and reliability in garden settings.
While considered naturally rare in its native habitat, Gossamer Grass is not under immediate threat due to its widespread cultivation. However, protecting natural populations remains important for maintaining genetic diversity and ecological relationships.
Gossamer Grass is remarkably pest and disease resistant, contributing to its reputation as a low-maintenance garden plant.
The plant shows excellent resistance to most fungal diseases and bacterial problems. Its drought tolerance and adaptability contribute to its overall health and vigor in garden settings.
Very few pests cause significant problems. The plant is deer resistant and generally not attractive to common garden pests. Occasional aphids may appear but rarely require treatment.
The main issues are usually environmental rather than pest-related. Poor drainage can occasionally cause root problems, and heavy shade results in poor performance rather than disease.
In its native habitat, Gossamer Grass contributes to tussock grassland ecosystems, providing shelter and nesting material for small birds and habitat for invertebrates. Its seeds are food for native birds.
While not invasive in New Zealand, Gossamer Grass can become weedy in similar climates such as California and the Pacific Northwest. Gardeners in these regions should monitor spread and remove unwanted seedlings.
Gossamer Grass holds a unique position as one of New Zealand's most internationally celebrated ornamental plants, demonstrating how our endemic flora can gain global recognition while maintaining deep cultural connections. Known traditionally as Hunangāmoho, this remarkable grass bridges traditional Māori plant knowledge and contemporary horticultural excellence. Learn about Cultural Plants
Gossamer Grass (Anemanthele lessoniana) represents the pinnacle of ornamental grass evolution, combining architectural form with spectacular seasonal color changes that have made it one of the world's most coveted garden plants. This clump-forming perennial grass creates dense tufts of narrow, arching leaves measuring 30-60cm in length and 3-6mm in width, forming elegant fountains that reach 60-90cm in height with a spread potentially exceeding 140cm at maturity.
The plant's most remarkable feature is its extraordinary color transformation throughout the seasons. New growth emerges as bright green in spring, gradually developing olive-green tones through early summer. As temperatures cool in autumn, the foliage undergoes a spectacular transformation, developing rich bronze, copper, orange, and red tints that intensify as winter approaches. In exposed locations or during stress conditions, the coloration can become so intense that plants appear to glow with inner fire, creating one of the most dramatic seasonal displays in temperate gardening.
During summer (December to February), Gossamer Grass produces its distinctive inflorescences - delicate, open panicles that emerge purple-tinged and mature to warm tawny or golden-brown colors. These airy seedheads, measuring 15-25cm long, arch gracefully above and within the foliage, creating the gossamer-like effect that gives the plant its common name. The seedheads persist well into winter, providing extended ornamental value and gentle movement in the breeze.
The root system is fibrous and relatively shallow but extensive, enabling the plant to access moisture efficiently while providing good drought tolerance once established. Individual plants can live for many decades, gradually increasing in size and forming impressive clumps that serve as focal points in garden design.
Gossamer Grass occupies a remarkably restricted natural habitat, occurring only in specific coastal and near-coastal locations on New Zealand's North Island, making it one of our rarest indigenous grasses. The species' natural distribution is limited to scattered populations from Kaipara Harbour north to the Far North, with the majority of known sites concentrated around Auckland and Northland coastal areas.
In its natural habitat, Gossamer Grass typically grows in coastal scrublands, cliff faces, rocky outcrops, and forest margins where it experiences the moderating influence of maritime conditions. These sites are characterized by free-draining soils, exposure to salt-laden winds, and the variable moisture conditions typical of coastal environments. The grass often occurs in association with other coastal natives such as pōhutukawa, coastal flax, and various coastal shrubs that provide some protection from the harshest conditions.
Natural growing sites typically feature poor to moderate fertility soils, often shallow and rocky, with excellent drainage but access to groundwater or regular moisture from coastal fogs and precipitation. The species demonstrates remarkable adaptability within these coastal environments, thriving in full sun locations while also persisting in partially shaded areas beneath coastal forest edges.
The restricted natural distribution and small population sizes have led to its classification as "Naturally Rare" under New Zealand's threat classification system. However, the species' exceptional performance in cultivation has ensured its survival and global distribution far beyond its limited natural range. Ironically, this naturally rare plant is now one of New Zealand's most widely planted natives in gardens worldwide, demonstrating the conservation value of horticultural appreciation.
Gossamer Grass stands out among ornamental grasses for its exceptional adaptability and relatively undemanding cultivation requirements, making it accessible to gardeners of all experience levels while still rewarding careful attention to its preferences.
This section details the soil, water, light, and climate preferences for cultivation. of Gossamer Grass enables gardeners to optimize its performance and achieve the spectacular color displays that have made this plant world-famous among ornamental grass enthusiasts.
Gossamer Grass has revolutionized contemporary landscape design as one of the most versatile and visually striking ornamental grasses available to professional landscapers and garden designers worldwide. Its combination of architectural form, seasonal color transformation, and low maintenance requirements makes it an invaluable tool for creating dynamic, sustainable landscapes.
Gossamer Grass ranks among the lowest-maintenance ornamental plants available, requiring minimal intervention once established while providing decades of garden performance. Understanding its long-term care needs ensures sustained beauty and plant health.
Successful establishment of Gossamer Grass depends on proper planting technique and timing, though the species is generally forgiving and establishes readily under appropriate conditions.
Despite its restricted natural distribution, Gossamer Grass plays important ecological roles both in its native coastal habitats and in cultivated landscapes where it supports biodiversity and provides ecosystem services.
Gossamer Grass demonstrates remarkable ecological adaptations that have enabled it to thrive in challenging coastal environments while also making it exceptionally successful in cultivation worldwide.
Gossamer Grass presents a unique conservation paradox - while naturally rare with a restricted distribution, it has become one of the world's most widely cultivated native New Zealand plants, ensuring its long-term survival through horticultural preservation.
The extraordinary success of Gossamer Grass in cultivation has created one of the most successful plant conservation stories in New Zealand's history. Millions of plants grown worldwide ensure the species' survival while demonstrating the conservation potential of horticulturally valuable native plants. This success story provides a model for conservation of other rare native species through cultivation and public appreciation.
Hunangāmoho (Anemanthele lessoniana) holds special cultural significance in traditional Māori plant knowledge as a distinctive native grass recognized for its graceful, wind-responsive character that earned it names reflecting its dynamic movement and ethereal appearance. Known also as toetoe hunangāmoho, this elegant species occupied an important place in traditional ecological understanding as an indicator plant of forest margins, coastal cliff environments, and areas of natural disturbance where its ability to establish in challenging conditions demonstrated the resilience and adaptability valued in traditional Māori resource management.
While specific traditional medicinal or practical uses of hunangāmoho are not extensively documented in available ethnobotanical sources, the plant's Māori name and inclusion in traditional plant knowledge systems indicates its recognition and cultural importance within indigenous ecological frameworks. The graceful, flowing foliage that responds dramatically to wind patterns would have made this species immediately recognizable to traditional users, serving as both a landscape indicator and a visual reminder of the dynamic relationship between plants and their environment that characterizes traditional Māori understanding of natural systems.
Today, hunangāmoho represents one of New Zealand's greatest native plant conservation success stories, transforming from a naturally rare species with limited distribution to one of the world's most widely cultivated New Zealand natives. This remarkable journey from rarity to global recognition demonstrates how traditional knowledge of distinctive native species can contribute to contemporary conservation efforts, while the plant's international popularity helps preserve genetic diversity and raises global awareness of New Zealand's unique flora. The continued use of the traditional Māori name hunangāmoho in contemporary horticulture honors the indigenous heritage of this graceful grass while celebrating its role in connecting people worldwide to New Zealand's natural heritage.
