''Deschampsia cespitosa'', commonly known as tufted hairgrass or tussock grass, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

tufted plant in the grass 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 ...

. Distribution of this species is widespread including the eastern and western coasts of North America, parts of South America, Eurasia and Australia. The species is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant, and numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s are available. The cultivars 'Goldschleier' and 'Goldtau' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. It is a larval host to the Juba skipper and the umber skipper.

Description

A distinguishing feature is the upper surface of the leaf blade which feels rough and can cut in one direction, but is smooth in the opposite direction. The dark green upper sides of the leaves are deeply grooved. It can grow to tall, and has a long, narrow, pointed ligule. It flowers from June until August. It can be found on all types of grassland, although it prefers poorly drained soil. It forms a major component of the British NVC community MG9 - ''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...

'' to ''Deschampsia cespitosa'' mesotrophic grasslands. It can exist up to altitudes of 4000 ft.Grasses by C E Hubbard, 1978, published by Penguin books Typical native grass associates in the western North American coastal prairies, such as the

California coastal prairie California coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. It is found along the Pacific Coast, from as far south as L ...

, are '' Festuca californica'', ''

Festuca idahoensis ''Festuca idahoensis'' is a species of grass known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common. It can be found in many ecosystems, from shady forests to open plai ...

'', ''

Danthonia californica ''Danthonia californica'' is a species of grass known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from California to Saskatchewan, and Chile. Description ''Danthonia ...

'', and ''

Nassella pulchra ''Nassella pulchra'', basionym ''Stipa pulchra'', is a species of grass known by the common names purple needlegrass and purple tussockgrass. It is native to the U.S. state of California, where it occurs throughout the coastal hills, valleys, an ...

''.

Subspecies

* ''Deschampsia cespitosa'' subsp. ''cespitosa'' (synonyms: ''Deschampsia bottnica'' (Wahlenb.) Trin.; ''Deschampsia littoralis'' (Gaudin) Reut.)

Gallery

Image:Deschampsia cespitosa seed.jpg , Seed Image:Deschampsia cespitosa ligula.jpeg , Ligule is long and pointed

References

External links

*''Jepson Manual''. 1993
Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Deschampsia cespitosa''USDA Plants Profile for ''Deschampsia cespitosa''UC Photos gallery of ''Deschampsia cespitosa''
cespitosa Bunchgrasses of North America Bunchgrasses of Asia Bunchgrasses of Europe Bunchgrasses of South America Grasses of North America Grasses of Oceania Grasses of Canada Grasses of the United States Flora of Australia Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa named by Palisot de Beauvois Garden plants of North America Garden plants of South America {{Pooideae-stub

Description

Subspecies

Gallery

See also

References

External links