''Aira'' is a genus of

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

plants in the

grass family 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 and ...

, native to western and southern Europe, central and southwest Asia, plus Africa. The

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

, shared with the similar related genera '' Deschampsia'' and '' Koeleria'', is hair-grass, from the very slender

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

and stems. The species typically occur on dry, sandy sites, and grow to 20–40 cm tall. Several species are grown as ornamental plants for their very delicate airy seed heads, used in dried flower arrangements. ; SpeciesKew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>The Plant List search for ''Aira''
/ref> ; formerly included Many species now considered better suited to other genera: ''

Agrostis ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species * '' Agrostis aequivalvi'' ...

, Antinoria, Arundinella, Arundo, Catabrosa, Colpodium, Corynephorus, Cyrtococcum, Deschampsia, Ehrharta, Eragrostis,

Eremopoa ''Eremopoa'' is a genus of Eurasian and Egyptian plants in the Poaceae, grass family. ; Species * ''Eremopoa altaica'' (Trin.) Roshev. - Egypt, European Russia, Asia from Sinai Peninsula, Sinai to Tibet + Xinjiang * ''Eremopoa attalica'' H.Schol ...

, Eriachne, Eustachys, Hierochloe, Koeleria, Molinia,

Pentameris ''Pentameris'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, native primarily to Africa, with a few species in Yemen and on certain islands in the Indian Ocean. A significant number of species are endemic to South Africa.Linder, Hans Peter, et ...

, Peyritschia,

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), a ...

, Puccinellia,

Rostraria ''Rostraria'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, native primarily to Eurasia and North Africa with one species native to South America. Hairgrass is a common name. These grasses are sometimes included in genus ''Koeleria''. ; Species * ...

, Scolochloa, Sesleria,

Sphenopholis ''Sphenopholis'' is a genus of North American and Hawaiian plants in the grass family. They are known generally as wedgescales. ; Species * '' Sphenopholis filiformis'' - longleaf wedgescale - TX OK AR LA TN MS AL GA FL NC SC VA ...

, Sporobolus,

Tricholaena ''Tricholaena'' is a genus of Asian, African, and Italian plants in the grass family. ; Species * ''Tricholaena capensis'' (Licht. ex Roem. & Schult.) Nees - Free State, Namibia, Cape Province * ''Tricholaena monachne'' (Trin.) Stapf & C. ...

Trisetum ''Trisetum'' is a genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biologica ...

'' etc.

References

Pooideae Poaceae genera {{Pooideae-stub

See also

References