''Calamagrostis epigejos'', common names wood small-reed or bushgrass, is a species of grass in the family

Poaceae 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 ...

which is native to Eurasia and Africa. It is found from average moisture locales to

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

and wet habitats.bluestem.ca
. accessed 9.30.2012

Description

The foliage is a medium green and is perennial with lengthy

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. The culms are erect and are long while the leaf-blades are long and (in some cases even ) wide. Its

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many grasses (Poaceae) and sedges. A ligule is also a strap-shaped extension of the corolla, such as that of a ...

is long and is acute and lacerate. The species also have an erect

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

which is long and is also oblong and almost lanceolate. The

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

s are long while the rhachilla is prolonged. The

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ...

s are scaberulous and lanceolate while the lemma is only a half of its length. Its awns are and are located closer to the lemmas middle. The large inflorescence is a rich brown colour. The flowers form dense and narrow spikes long.

Distribution

''Calamagrostis epigejos'' has a broad distribution in temperate Eurasia, from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. A distinct variety is found in southern and eastern Africa.

Cultivation

''Calamagrostis epigejos'' is cultivated as an

ornamental grass Ornamental grasses are grasses grown as ornamental plants. Ornamental grasses are popular in many colder hardiness zones for their resilience to cold temperatures and aesthetic value throughout fall and winter seasons. Classifications Along ...

for gardens.

References

External links

*
Bluestem.ca: ''Calamagrostis epigejos''Gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org: ''Calamagrostis epigejos'' (feathertop reed grass)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157988 epigejos Grasses of Africa Grasses of Asia Grasses of Europe Garden plants of Africa Garden plants of Asia Garden plants of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus