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Wavy hair-grass

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Scientific name: Deschampsia flexuosa
Wavy hair-grass lives up to its name: its fine, hair-like leaves and delicate flower heads can be seen shaking in the breeze of a windswept moorland or heathland.

Top facts

Category

Stats

Height: up to 1m

Conservation status

Common.

When to see

January to December

About

With wavy stems, fine, hair-like leaves, and delicate, shaking flower heads, Wavy hair-grass certainly lives up to its common name. A tuft-forming, perennial grass, it prefers acidic soils and can be found on heathland and moorland, flowering in June and July. It is the foodplant of the caterpillar of the Wall Brown butterfly, which is classified as a Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.

What to look for

Wavy hair-grass has fine leaves and drooping stems that hold loose flower heads with open clusters of delicate, purplish spikelets (containing the flowers).

Where to find

Widespread.

Did you know?

The Common sun beetle - a black beetle with a copper, metallic sheen - is associated with Wavy hair-grass.