''Calamagrostis epigejos'', common names wood small-reed or bushgrass, is a species of 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 ...

which is native to Eurasia and Africa. It is found from average moisture locales to

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

and wet habitats.bluestem.ca
. accessed 9.30.2012

Description

The foliage is a medium green and is perennial with lengthy

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s. The culms are erect and are long while the leaf-blades are long and (in some cases even ) wide. Its

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 long and is acute and lacerate. The species also have an erect

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

which is long and is also oblong and almost lanceolate. The

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the inflorescences of grasses, sedges and some other monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the sp ...

s are long while the rhachilla is prolonged. The

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flow ...

s are scaberulous and lanceolate while the lemma is only a half of its length. Its awns are and are located closer to the lemmas middle. The large inflorescence is a rich brown colour. The flowers form dense and narrow spikes long.

Distribution

''Calamagrostis epigejos'' has a broad distribution in temperate Eurasia, from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. A distinct variety is found in southern and eastern Africa.

Cultivation

''Calamagrostis epigejos'' is cultivated as an ornamental grass for gardens.

References

External links

*
Bluestem.ca: ''Calamagrostis epigejos''Gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org: ''Calamagrostis epigejos'' (feathertop reed grass)
{{Authority control epigejos Grasses of Africa Grasses of Asia Grasses of Europe Garden plants of Africa Garden plants of Asia Garden plants of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Grasses of Lebanon