''Cynosurus cristatus'', the crested dog's-tail, is a short-lived

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

grass in the family

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

, characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It typically grows in species rich

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

. It thrives in a variety of soil types but avoids the acid and calcareous extremes of pH, and prefers well drained soils.BSBI Description
retrieved 10 December 2010. It may be grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

Description

It is

with a slighted tufted habit, a slender stem, 15 to 45 cm high, leafy at the base and thus suitable for grazing by sheep. The spikelets are fertile or sterile, mixed within the same cluster. They are oblong or wedge shaped, 3–6 mm long, with 2 to 5 flowers. The

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above g ...

is blunt. Leaves are folded in shoot. Leaves are pointed at the tip, flat (not boat-shaped). The lower side of the leaf is smooth, glossy and keeled. The upper side is ribbed. Other grasses with glossy leaves include ''

Lolium perenne ''Lolium perenne'', common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world. ...

'' and ''

Poa trivialis ''Poa trivialis'' (rough bluegrass; ''UK:'' rough-stalked meadow-grass or rough meadow-grass), is a perennial plant regarded in the US as an ornamental plant. It is part of the grass family. Description It is very common in meadows and pasture ...

''.

Habitat and distribution

It is found in most parts of Europe and South West Asia, and has been introduced into North America, Australia and New Zealand, from near sea level up to about 2000 feet, in all soil types.

Flowers

It flowers from May to August.

Uses

It is grazed by sheep as it is leafy at the base. It can withstand cold and drought and remains green during the winter. Cattle and sheep will eat the young leaves eagerly, but leave the stiff, hard stems alone. It has been used for straw plaiting hats and other similar uses. It is a foodplant for the

skipper butterfly Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...

and brown butterfly families. It also used as a rat killer.

References

* * Hubbard, C E. (1968) Grasses * Rose, Francis (1974) The Observers Book of Grasses, Sedges and Rushes

External links

''Cynosurus cristatus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1813529 Flora of Europe Flora of Estonia Flora of the United Kingdom Pooideae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus