''Aira praecox'' is a species of
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
known by several common names, including early hair-grass,
yellow hairgrass and spike hairgrass. It is native to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, where it is found in dry, sandy places, on rocky outcrops, and in heath grassland.
It also grows in North America as an
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
, where it can be found on the east and west coasts in sandy or rocky areas, such as beaches and roadsides. This is a tuft-forming annual grass growing up to about 10 to 15 centimeters in maximum height.
The thin, narrow leaves are located at the base of the stem, and are typically 0.3–2 millimeters wide. It bears small, tightly congested
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
s of purple-tinted green
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
spikelets.
It is an annual, forming low and small but numerous tufts. It flowers from April to June.
Certain moths and butterflies, including the
Grayling butterfly and the
Coast Dart moth, feed on it as
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
e.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileGrass Manual Treatment
Pooideae
Grasses of Europe
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Pooideae-stub