The pampas grass, with the scientific name Cortaderia selloana, is native to the Pampas, a biome located in South America, and “until two decades ago [the plant] was mainly confined to gardens”, but it is becoming a threat, showing “a voracious appetite” for the territory, said Hélia Marchante, quoted in a press release from ESAC.

“This species easily occupies the verges and surroundings of our roads, railways and other disturbed areas, finding there an easy opportunity to expand rapidly”, in addition to invading places such as marshes, dunes or even the undergrowth of forest areas, the professor highlights.

This is due to its excellent reproductive capacity, which translates into millions of tiny seeds per plant, as well as its low resource requirements; its great flexibility in terms of the ecological conditions in which it can grow; and, sometimes, the lack of competition from other species that (do not) occupy the territory, due to the degradation of plant communities, she explains.

At this time of year, she continues, “it is very easy to identify where the pampas grasses are, as they reveal themselves splendidly in the landscape, displaying their inflorescences, plumes or showy tufts, of varied colouring that can range from silver to slightly pink”.

Despite its beauty, the potential danger to the skin (hence its name Cortaderia), the economic consequences (since its control, particularly on the roadside strips, requires “spending large amounts of financial resources”) and the fact that, when growing unchecked, pampas grass forms homogeneous areas in which it is the only protagonist, crowding out other species and degrading ecosystems, are some of the negative effects.

In addition, “the negative impacts on the health of the population, through the allergies it causes, are particularly aggravated by its flowering after the summer, at a time when fewer allergenic species usually flower, which is responsible for a new, later peak in allergies”.

“It is therefore urgent that we act, as a society, to stop this environmental catastrophe and its negative social consequences”, urges Hélia Marchante.