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Common Name: Tussock Grass

General Information

Deschampsia caespitosa is a Evergreen Perennial up to 1.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

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[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a humus-rich acidic soil[] but it succeeds in most soils[]. It prefers a soil on the heavier and wetter side[], but it also grows in drier soils[]. Does well on damp or wet banks or in open woodland[, ].
Deschampsia cespitosa is an extremely polymorphic, widely distributed grass. Many regional and local variants have been accorded separate status, either at specific or infraspecific rank[].
There are several named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[].

Edible Uses

Seed[, , , ]. 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[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

Plants form impenetrably dense clumps and when planted close together in drifts make an excellent ground cover[].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ in spring or autumn[, , ]. Only just cover the seed[]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 13°c[].
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.