Holcus lanatus is a significant pest weed in Australia, as it is a winter-growing C3 grass and survives droughts and hot summers as seed. It is distasteful to stock unless it is young and little other plant material is available. The flowers are wind-pollinated and usually out-crossing. The first seeds become viable 5 to 9 days after flowering and all are viable after 20 days. Seeds are shed from in summer and early autumn. One panicle has 100 to 380 seeds, with 177,000 to 240,000 seeds per plant, depending on time of emergence.
