Grass : Soft Bromes Family:-

Soft Bromes of the Grass Family are " a variable group of slender greyish, softly downy annuals or biennials, with flat leaves rolled in bud, a short blunt ligule and tubular sheaths soon splitting, the lower usually hairy. Flower-heads varying from small, erect and compact to large, open and drooping; spikelets fat-looking, oblong, narrowed at the top, rather flattened, usually hairless and breaking up when ripe; lower glume broad and swollen, generally distinctly veined; pales overlapping, the lower with a slender, hardly spreading awn; anthers normally short, on short stalks. " from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978

Grass : Soft Bromes Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Early Hair-Grass

(Yellow Hairgrass, Spike Hairgrass)

Aira praecox

May

An annual of sandy, gravelly and rocky places, commonly on thin acidic soils around rock outcrops, on walls, cliff-tops, heaths and sand dunes. It is rarely recorded as a wool casual. Generally lowland, but reaching 685 m on Mangerton Mountain (S. Kerry).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Early Sand-Grass

Mibora minima

January-May

A diminutive winter-annual of coastal sand dunes in Wales, on open nutrient-poor substrates which are free-draining but damp in winter; also, in the Channel Islands, on barish gravelly cliff-slopes. It is recorded at other dune sites in England and Scotland, and inland as a casual plant in nurseries and gardens. Lowland. Recommended in USA for rock gardens.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

False Oat (Syn. False Oat-Grass, French Rye, Glatthafer, Oat Grass, Tall Oat Grass)

Arrhenatherum elatius

June onwards

A tufted perennial grass found in a very wide range of neutral to base-rich habitats. It is frequent in grasslands, but is especially common on road verges, hedge banks, and river banks. It is an important stabiliser of limestone scree, and a coloniser of bare, muddy, calcareous cliffs and maritime shingle. Var. bulbosum is widely distributed on roadside banks and as an arable weed on light soils. 0-550 m (E. Perth). Grown as a forage grass and yields a palatable hay in the USA.

Flower

Flowers from Jervaux Abbey

Foliage from Jervaux Abbey

Form from Jervaux Abbey

False Rye Brome
(Smith's Brome)

Bromus secalinus subsp pseudosecalinus

(Bromus pseudosecalinus)

June-August

An annual of grassy fields and waysides, where it probably arises as a contaminant of grass-seed. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Fine Bent

(Common Bent, Colonial Bent, Browntop)

Agrostis tenuis

Same as Agrostis capillaris on Soft Bromes Page 1

July-August

A rhizomatous, occasionally stoloniferous, perennial herb occurring mainly on dry or damp, neutral to moderately acidic soils; its habitats include lowland pastures, hay meadows, upland hill-pasture, heaths, open woodland and scrub, sand dunes and a range of ruderal habitats including areas contaminated by heavy metals. It is extensively used as a lawn grass, on its own or with other species. 0-1210 m (Ben Lawers, Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Foxtail Millet (Syn. Foxtail Bristle-Grass, Italian Foxtail)

Setaria italica

(Chaetochloa italica, Panicum italicum, Setaria italica var. metzgeri, Seteria italica var. stramineofructa)

August onwards

An annual of rubbish tips, docks and waste ground, mainly introduced in bird-seed (known as Italian Millet in bird-seed mixtures) and as a contaminant of grain. Lowland. Grown mostly for hay or as a pasture grass, but it has been used as a substitute for rice in northern China.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Grey Hair-Grass

(Gray Clubawn Grass)

Corynephorus canescens

June-July

A perennial herb growing in open areas on consolidated dunes, on sandy shingle and on open sand. It also occurs on dunes and sandy heathland on acidic soils inland. It requires mobile sand for its survival; mature tufts are reinvigorated by partial burial. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Harestail Grass

Lagurus ovatus

June-August

This annual grass is naturalised on sand dunes in the Channel Islands and S. England. Elsewhere it occurs as a casual garden escape or introduction from wool shoddy or grain, on walls, pavements, roadsides, rubbish tips and in car parks. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Holy Grass

(Sweetgrass, Vanilla Sweet-grass)

Hierochloe odorata

(Anthoxanthum nitens, Hierochloe fragrans, Hierochloe nashii, Holcus odoratus, Savastana nashii, Savastana odorata, Torresia odorata)

April-May

A rhizomatous perennial herb occurring in a range of wetland habitats, including lakeside reed-beds, sedge swamps, Salix carr, river banks and wet meadows; also, in S.W. Scotland, at the base of coastal cliffs where streams emerge and along the upper edge of fringing saltmarshes. 0-300 m (Clearburn Loch, Selkirks.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Lesser Canary Grass (Littleseed Canarygrass)

Phalaris minor

June-September

This annual is usually found as a casual on rubbish dumps and waste ground, but is sometimes established amongst arable crops, including bulb-fields in the Isles of Scilly and carrot fields in East Anglia. It mainly originates from grain, bird-seed, wool and esparto. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Lesser Cord-Grass (Small Cordgrass)

Spartina maritima (Spartina stricta)

July-September

A perennial herb of tidal mud-flats, generally at higher elevations than S. anglica, such as in saltmarsh creeks and pans, and on bare ground behind sea walls. It rarely sets seed in Britain, relying instead on vegetative spread by means of extensively creeping rhizomes. Lowland. One of the mud-binding grasses.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Lyme Grass

(Grand Oyat, Rancheria, Sea Lyme Grass, Seigle de Mer, Sand Ryegrass)

Elymus arenarius

(Leymus arenarius)

June-August

A rhizomatous perennial herb growing on coastal sand dunes, sometimes also on fine shingle; it is well known as an important species in the stabilisation of mobile dunes and widely planted as a sand binder. It is a rare casual or naturalised garden escape inland. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Marram grass

(European Beachgrass)

Ammophila arenaria

July-August

A rhizomatous perennial herb of coastal sand dunes. A. arenaria is an important species in the stabilisation of mobile dunes and blow-outs, and is widely planted as a sand binder. Inland, it is a rare casual, though several attempts have been made in recent years to establish it on inland golf courses. Lowland.

Form from Norfolk

Flowers from Cliffe

Foliage from Sandwich in Kent

Form from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Marsh Foxtail

Alopecurus geniculatus

June-September

A perennial herb, rooting at the nodes, which is frequent in fertile sites which are flooded in winter such as muddy ditch-sides, wet arable fields, pond margins and grazing marshes. It readily colonises bare mud and disturbed areas, where it can become very lush, but avoids both the most acidic and the most alkaline sites. Generally lowland, but reaching 595 m on Highfield (S. Northumb.), and exceptionally at 845 m on Great Dun Fell (Westmorland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Mat-Grass

(Borstgras, Moor Mat Grass, Nard Grass)

Nardus stricta

June-August

A densely tufted, shortly rhizomatous perennial found on winter-wet, base-poor, infertile and peaty soils, occurring in great quantity on upland hill-slopes, moorland and mountains, including snow-bed communities, but also found on lowland mires, heaths and acidic grasslands, and even sometimes in the upper reaches of saltmarsh turf. 0-1250 m (Ben Macdui, S. Aberdeen). The stiff, sharp leaves make it unpalatable; hence it tends to survive in areas of heavy grazing in the USA as a noxious weed.

Flower from Beinn Uidhe in Sutherland on 3 August

Flowers

Foliage from Beinn Uidhe on 3 August

Form from Beinn Uidhe on 3 August

Meadow Barley

Hordeum secalinum

June-July

A perennial herb of meadows, pastures and roadsides, often in river valley floodplains and showing a strong preference for sticky clay soils. In coastal areas it is frequently abundant in grazing marsh grasslands and on earthen sea walls. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Meadow Brome

Bromus commutatus

June-August

An annual of unimproved damp meadows, also found on waysides, road verges and the borders of fields and tracks. Many recent records are of casual occurrences arising from grass-seed impurities. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Meadow Foxtail

Alopecurus pratensis

April-July

A tufted perennial herb of a wide range of grasslands, particularly those with moist, fertile soils. It also occurs on roadsides and woodland margins. It avoids waterlogged habitats, and is absent from light and dry soils, including arable fields. Generally lowland, but reaching 610 m on Ettrick Pen (Dumfriess.), and exceptionally at 845 m on Great Dun Fell (Westmorland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Meadow Oat-Grass

(Echter Weisenhafer, Rauher Wiesenhafer)

Avenula pratensis

(Helictotrichon pratense, Arrhenatherum pratense, Avena pratensis, Avenochloa pratensis)

May-July

A perennial herb of calcareous rendzina and brown earth soils, usually over chalk or limestone, but also over glacial deposits and basic igneous rocks. It is characteristic of well-grazed chalk and limestone downland, but is also found on screes, cliffs and limestone pavements, and occasionally in open Fraxinus woods, on sand dunes and on montane ledge communities with Dryas octopetala. 0-835 m (Breadalbanes, Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Narrow Small-Reed

(Northern Reedgrass)

Calamagrostis stricta

(Calamagrostis:- california, canadensis, chordorrhiza, crassiglumis, expansa, fernaldi, inexpansa, labridorica, lacustris, lapponica, pickeringii, robertii)

June-August

A tufted rhizomatous perennial herb of near-neutral mires and lake margins. 0-340 m (Kingside Loch, Selkirks.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Nit Grass

Gastridium ventricosum
(Agrostis ventricosa, Alopecurus ventricosus, Gastridium australe, Gastridium phleoides)

June-August

An annual of well-drained grasslands on calcareous substrates, especially on S.-facing slopes where the turf is broken by patches of crumbling soil. It used to be a frequent weed of cornfields, and is an occasional wool and grain casual. Lowland

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Oat
(Syn. Cultivated Oat, Common Oat, Naked Oats, Avoine)

Avena sativa

(Avena byzantina, Avena fatua, Avena sativa var. orientalis)

June-August

This annual grass is a frequent relic of arable crops, and an occasional casual on field edges, roadsides, tips and waste ground. It does not persist and is never naturalised. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Orange Foxtail

(Shortawn foxtail)

Alopecurus aequalis

(Sonoma alopecurus)

June-September

An annual, most frequent on drying mud but found in a wide variety of habitats associated with freshwater, including the margins of ponds, ditches, reservoirs, turloughs and flooded gravel-pits. It has also recently been found as a weed in aquatic garden centres. Lowland.

Flower from Husthwaite in Yorkshire

Flowers from Husthwaite

Foliage

Form from Husthwaite

Pointed Catstail

(Purple-stem Cat's-tail)

Phleum phleoides

June-August

A perennial herb of open habitats on free-draining sandy or chalky soils, especially in Breckland where it occurs on grazed grass-heaths, road verges and track-side banks, and in the vicinity of pits, rabbit warrens and other disturbed places. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Purple Small-Reed

Calamagrostis canescens

June-July

A perennial herb of lakeside marshes, fen-meadows, tall-herb fens and Alnus or Salix carr, often in extremely species-rich vegetation and sometimes forming extensive stands. Generally lowland, but reaching 335 m on Malham Moor (Mid-W. Yorks.) Larval Foodplant for butterfly Large Chequered Skipper.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Reed-Grass

(Reed canary-grass)

Phalaris arundinacea

June-August

A rhizomatous perennial herb of ditches, river banks, Alnus-Salix carr and the margins of canals, reservoirs, lakes and ponds, growing especially well where the water-table fluctuates widely. It prefers slightly drier sites than Glyceria maxima and Phragmites australis, and can occur on roadsides. 0-475 m (Llyn y Figyn, Cards.) and exceptionally at 845 m on Great Dun Fell (Westmorland). Class C Noxious Weed in Washington, USA.

Flower from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Rye

(Cereal Rye, Common Rye)

Secale cereale

(Secale montanum, Secale strictum, Triticum cereale)

June-July

An annual, sometimes occurring in wheat and barley fields as a grain alien or relic of cultivation. It is also found, usually as a casual from grass-seed or bird-seed, on roadsides, manure heaps, rubbish tips, waste ground and even the cracks in pavements. Lowland. One of the world's most important cereal grasses.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Rye Brome

(Common Chess)

Bromus secalinus

June-August

An annual or biennial of cereal fields, which is also found as a casual on waste ground, and occasionally in improved leys. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Sand Cat's-tail

(Sand timothy)

Phleum arenarium

May-July

An annual of coastal sand dunes and sandy shingle, usually on mobile or semi-fixed Ammophila dunes and frequently associated with winter-annuals such as Aira praecox, Myosotis ramosissima and Vulpia fasciculata; also inland in Breckland, on open grass-heaths, wind-blown sand banks and other disturbed, open, sandy areas. It is a rare casual inland, sometimes arriving with imported sea-sand. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Sand Couch

Agropyron junceiforme (Elymus farctus ssp. boreali-atlanticus, Elytrigia juncea, Agropyron junceum, Elymus junceus, Triticum farctum, Triticum junceum)

June-August

A rhizomatous perennial herb growing on or just above the strandline in loose sand, sometimes also on shingle. It is well known as a sand stabiliser on dune systems, forming low hummocky fore-dunes on the seaward side of the main Ammophila arenaria dunes. Lowland. It often forms small dunes in front of the main Marram dunes. Used as food plant by insects.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Sea Barley

Hordeum marinum

June-July

An annual of barish places by the sea, on the trampled margins of dried-up pools and ditches in grazing marshes, on tracks and sea walls, and in the uppermost parts of saltmarshes; also, very locally, beside salt-treated roads inland. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Sea Couch

(Tick Quackgrass)

Agropyron pungens

(Agropyron campestre, Agropyron littorale, Agropyron pycnanthum, Elymus pungens, Elymus pycnanthus, Elytrigia pungens, Elytrigia pycnantha, Elytrigia pycnanthes, Tricum pungens, Thinopyrum pycnanthum, Elytrigia atherica)

July-September

A rhizomatous perennial herb, growing on the margins of brackish creeks, in saltmarshes, saltmarsh-sand dune transitions, and on shingle banks and sea walls. In ungrazed situations it can form dense stands covering large areas to the almost total exclusion of other species. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers from Grain in Kent

Foliage from Grain

Form from Grain

Sea Hard-Grass

(Slender Barb Grass)

Parapholis strigosa

July-August

An annual of damp barish places by the sea; especially characteristic of the upper parts of grazed Festuca rubra-Puccinellia maritima saltmarshes, but also on mud banks, shingle ridges, saltmarsh-sand dune transitions and sea walls. In W. Britain and Ireland it occurs along rocky coasts in beach-head saltmarshes. Rarely, it grows inland by salt-treated roads. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Tales of Scalliness:-

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez flies to  Bagdad to watch a young Iraqi play football. Suitably impressed, he signs him on the spot.

Several weeks later at Anfield, Liverpool are 4-0 down to  Manchester Utd with only twenty minutes left  to play. The manager gives the young Iraqi striker the nod and on he goes.

The new signing is a sensation - he scores five goals in twenty minutes and wins the game for  Liverpool . The fans are delighted, the players and coaches over the moon, and the media hail the new star.

After the game, the excited youngster phones his mum to tell her about his first day in English football.

"Hello mum, guess what?" he burbles enthusiastically. "I played for twenty minutes today and we were 4-0 down but I scored five goals and we won the game."

"'Wonderful," replies his mum. unimpressed. "Now let me tell you about my day.

"Your father got shot in the street and robbed; your sister and I were ambushed, gang raped and beaten and your brother has joined a gang of looters - and all while you were having a great time playing bloody football."

The young lad is very upset.

"What can I say mum, I'm so sorry to hear this."

"Sorry? Sorry?" his anguished mother shrieks down the phone.   "It's your bloody fault we moved to Liverpool in the first place!"

Rare Plant Register:-

During 2005 to 2007 the Botanical Cornwall Group is undertaking a project to inventory rare species of vascular plants in Cornwall and publish a Register of them. This will have the support of the local Records Centre (Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly – ERCCIS), which will eventually publish the Register, and the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI), who through the local vice-county recorders will be organising the project with a small steering group of interested local botanists. The project has three phases.

Grasses for a wildflower meadow

using a wild grass plug plant collection

A Vegetative Key to Grasses by Ellen McDouall from the Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre