Wavy hair-grass

Deschampsia flexuosa

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.

How to identify

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

Did you know?

The common sun beetle - a black beetle with a copper, metallic sheen - is associated with wavy hair-grass.
The Wildlife Trusts are working to restore and protect our heathlands by promoting good management, clearing encroaching scrub and implementing beneficial grazing regimes.