I think (and hope!) that while some of the fluffy grasses that I saw were pampas, some were also toetoe, working hard to stay alive and thrive. Fight on, toetoe!
Pampas is originally from South America, but here in Aotearoa, it seems to thrive all over the place, including near road sides and in forests. Toetoe mostly lives on sand dunes, cliffs, and wet areas.
It seems that both pampas and toetoe are pretty hardy. Pampas are able to grow rapidly, as one plant can produce millions of seeds that can spread far and wide, and they seem to be good at surviving in lots of different environments (check out the websites I linked above to learn more!). Toetoe is also easy to grow in dry or wet soil and in full or partial sun, according to one source I found.
Livestock likes to graze on pampas, but toetoe seems to be too tough for livestock to eat. Neither species is endangered, but pampas is worrisome - it is considered a pest and the government has declared it to be dangerous for biodiversity, since it crowds out native species. The Waikato Regional Pest Management Plan from 2022-2023 has declared that landowners are responsible for managing any pampas on their land. (Read more here!) Do you think this is a good way to manage pampas growth? What do you think the government should do?
