A Grass Called ‘Hairy Panic’ Has Engulfed Part of a Small Australian Town
by The Daily Eye Team February 20 2016, 2:39 pm Estimated Reading Time: 0 mins, 39 secsA small town in Australia is being engulfed by something called “hairy panic,” and it’snot what you pull out of a clogged shower drain. Hairy panic is the colloquial name for Panicumeffusum, a fast-growing grass that can turn into a tumbleweed in very dry conditions, which the town of Wangaratta in Northeast Victoria is currently experiencing.
As you can see in the video, the grass has piled up so high around some homes that it’s blocking doors and windows, even reaching roof height. It looks pretty lightweight—like a bunch of off-colored dandelion fluff—but nonetheless excruciating to remove. One man, going at the grass with a leafblower, completely disappears into a cloud ofthe stuff.