''Holcus mollis'', known as creeping soft grass or creeping velvet grass, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the grass 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 ...

. It is native to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and north

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Description

''Holcus mollis'' is a

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

perennial grass found in woods and hedgerows, growing to tall. It has rhizomes that occur around deep in soil or sometimes deeper. Rhizome growth occurs in the period May to November but is fastest from mid-June to mid-July. The rhizomes have many dormant buds that do not develop unless the rhizomes are disturbed and then fresh aerial shoots may arise from the broken fragments. It flowers from June to July. The main distinguishing characteristics from '' H. lanatus'' are the presence of rhizomes, and the bearded nodes or 'hairy knees' on the culm.

Habitat

''Holcus mollis'' is favoured by conditions in woodland clearings and at the early stages of

coppicing Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

. Growth and flowering are restricted as the tree canopy develops. It is often a relict of former woodland vegetation, surviving in open

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

and grassy heaths after woodland clearance despite being a shade lover. It is found mostly on moist, freely-drained acid soils, normally light to medium texture and high in organic matter; it is absent from areas of calcareous or base rich soil, and often grows with

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

Insect foodplant

The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

use it as a food plant, e.g. the

Essex skipper __NOTOC__ ''Thymelicus lineola'', known in Europe as the Essex skipper and in North America as the European skipper, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. With a wingspan of 2.5 to 2.9 cm, it is very similar in appearance to ...

(''Thymelicus lineola'').

Status as a weed

In a survey of weeds in conventional cereals in central southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1982, it was found in 1% of

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

but not at all in

winter wheat Winter wheat (usually ''Common wheat, Triticum aestivum'') are strains of wheat that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during the winter and resume growth in early spring. C ...

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

barley. Each small piece of rhizome is capable of developing into a new plant. Research shows that within of the surface, of rhizome infested soil may contain up to of rhizome, the weight of roots and rhizomes being estimated at 7.5 tons per acre.

Varieties and hybridisation

pentaploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the biological cell, cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of (Homologous chromosome, homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have Cell nucleus, nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning ...

variant of ''H. mollis'' is common in Britain; it is sterile but spreads vegetatively. ''H. mollis'' var. ''variegatus'' has striped green and white leaves; it is sometimes cultivated. A male sterile hybrid with ''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In Nor ...

'' exists with 2''n'' = 21 chromosomes. Hybrids tend to resemble ''H. lanatus'' in their morphology.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158965 Pooideae Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Plants described in 1759 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus