Some facts about spinifex:
1. It is a grass that grows in clumps, sticking to sand and rocky soils and growing larger and rounder the longer the area has been protected from fire
3. It is like a terrestrial, celluloid sea urchin, or a reverse pin cushion, with pointy spikes protruding out at all angles from some hidden interior
4. It contains silica in its spikes, which means that each pointy tip is like a glass skeleton
5. When you walk past it, thousands of shards prick you through your pants, no matter how thick they are
(My field pants are very thin indeed)
6. Many of these shards become embedded in your skin, though it is very difficult to tell which pinpricks are splinters and which are mere scratches
(This is especially difficult if one has lots of freckles)
7. Each subsequent day that you walk through fields of this lovely monocot, the shards re-embed themselves in the same areas that have already been pricked, as well as finding new locations to torture
8. Until finally, your shins resemble something like a poison oak rash, with the addition of many invisible spikes that continue to itch and annoy you until you can figure out how to get them out
9. At the same time, if you happen to be poking your hands around this spiky phenomenon, for example to set a trap under the spikes or to tie a label of flagging tape around a stem, your hands also become be-splintered with glass
(At least hand splinters can be more easily removed)
10. Surprisingly, some creatures use this disastrous excuse for a grass as habitat, somehow darting between the spikes to conceal themselves or possibly look for a spinifex food source, in its minimal seeds or plant fiber
(These animals must enjoy eating glass)
11. However, at sunset the vast clumps of green and yellow spinifex grass complement the red soil and fading light to form a golden landscape
12. It is almost enough to make you forget the evil side of the plant and wander into it again, expecting only soft hay
(Almost)
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