Deschampsia caespitosa
| Deschampsia caespitosa | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Deschampsia caespitosa (common name: tussock grass)
Propagation: Seed - sow in situ in spring or autumn[1][2][3]. Only just cover the seed[2]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 13°c[2].
If seed is in short supply it can be sown in a cold frame in spring, pricked out into individual pots as soon as it is large enough to handle and planted out in early summer.
Cultivation: Prefers a humus-rich acidic soil[3] but it succeeds in most soils[4]. It prefers a soil on the heavier and wetter side[4], but it also grows in drier soils[1]. Does well on damp or wet banks or in open woodland[4][1].
There are several named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[3].
Range: Temperate areas of Europe, including Britain, Asia, N. Africa, N. America and Australasia.
Habitat: Damp woods and meadows, usually on badly drained clay soils[5].
Edibility: Seed[6][7][8][9]. No further details are given, though it is likely that the seed was ground into a flour and used as a cereal. However, the seed is quite small and its use would be rather fiddly[K].
Usage: Plants form impenetrably dense clumps and when planted close together in drifts make an excellent ground cover[3].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Also Known As: Aira caespitosa.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Grounds, Roger. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm, 1989.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.