A Central Australian botanist is warning that the noxious weed African lovegrass is on the rise and is a real threat.

Listen Duration: 2 minutes 22 seconds 2 m 22 s Listen Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Botanist Peter Latz says smelly, basically inedible African lovegrass is on the rise in Central Australia ( Nathan Coates ) Download 1.1 MB

The lovegrass has been around for many years but has only recently ramped up its expansion.

Renowned botanist Peter Latz said African lovegrass could be a real problem for the pastoral industry.

"I call it a bad-ass because it spreads really quickly," he said.

"Once it gets in it's very hard to get rid of and it's almost unpalatable to any animal.

"If you're overgrazing your country, you can guarantee it's going to take off in your richer soil."

Mr Latz said if cattle ate enough African lovegrass they could die.

African lovegrass is characterised by grey fluffy heads. ( Nathan Coates )

He said the weed took off around Central Australia about 16 years ago and now he had observed it from Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, down to South Australia's Port Augusta.

"It is spreading from the Stuart Highway into areas where buffel grass is not keeping it at bay," he said.

According to Mr Latz it was not yet clear if the lovegrass could outcompete buffel, because they had not been together long enough.

"But it will outcompete buffel if something is eating the buffel and not the lovegrass," he said.

Mr Latz said the lovegrass was very hard to get rid off and that in parts of Queensland it was already tolerant to the popular herbicide Roundup.

He said he knew of experiences in the US with similar introduced, unpalatable grasses.

"Some of the ranches in areas similar to Central Australia have had to close down" he said.

"But the worst thing is you then get more fires and that can burn the shrubs so you can turn the country into desert pretty quickly."