Rye-grasses, Couches and Similar Species

Floating Sweet-grass Heath False-brome Italian Rye-grass Perennial Rye-grass



Grasses - Poaceae

Perennial Rye-grass      Lolium perenne

Native from Macaronesia eastwards through Europe and the Mediterranean Region to Siberia and Central Asia. Widely introduced throughout the World as a cultivated plant. Plants 30-80cm in height, variably tussocky or more open and with non-flowering shoots (tillers) at flowering and fruiting time as well as creeping rhizomes. Leaf blades 2-6mm wide, hairless, slightly ridged on the upper side and distinctly glossy on the underside, folded along the midrib when emerging. Leaf sheaths rounded and hairless. Ligule membranous, short. Flower spike long, narrow and wiry. Spikelets 7-20mm with 4-14 florets, alternating from one side to the other along a sinuous central stem, with the flat face of the spikelets at 90 degrees to the central stem. Lemmas blunt or pointed at the tip, but without awns.

Perennial Rye-grass Perennial Rye-grass Perennial Rye-grass Perennial Rye-grass
Early flower spike
Early spikelets
Early spikelets
Flowering spikelets
Perennial Rye-grass Perennial Rye-grass Perennial Rye-grass Perennial Rye-grass
Creeping rhizomes
Leaf upperside
Leaf underside
Leaf ligule


Italian Rye-grass      Lolium multiflorum

Native from Macaronesia eastwards through the Mediterranean Region to Central Asia. Widely introduced throughout the World as a cultivated plant. Plants 30-80cm in height, variably tussocky or more open but without non-flowering shoots (tillers) or creeping rhizomes at flowering and fruiting time. Leaf blades 2-10mm wide, hairless, slightly ridged on the upper side and distinctly glossy on the underside, inrolled along their length when emerging. Leaf sheaths rounded and hairless. Ligule membranous, short. Flower spike long, narrow and wiry. Spikelets 8-25mm with 5-15 florets, alternating from one side to the other along a sinuous central stem, with the flat face of the spikelets at 90 degrees to the central stem. Lemmas blunt or pointed at the tip, with an awn up to 10mm long.

Italian Rye-grass Italian Rye-grass Italian Rye-grass Italian Rye-grass
Early flower spike
Early spikelets
Early spikelet
Flowering spikelets
Italian Rye-grass Italian Rye-grass Italian Rye-grass Italian Rye-grass
Flowering spikelets
Flowering spikelet
Leaf underside
Leaf ligule


Mediterranean Sand Couch      Thinopyrum junceum

Native throughout the Mediterranean Region to Macaronesia and Black Sea coasts. A grass of coastal sands.

Mediterranean Sand Couch Mediterranean Sand Couch Mediterranean Sand Couch Mediterranean Sand Couch
Habit
Early Spikelets
Early Spikelet
Leaf base and stem


Common False-brome      Brachypodium sylvaticum

Native throughout much of Eurasia and typically a plant of woodland and shady places. Plants 30-90cm in height, forming densely tufted clumps. Leaf blades 6-12mm wide, narrowing very noticeably into the base, softly downy, upright when young but later arching over, pale green. Leaf sheaths rounded and hairy (sometimes hairless on the uppermost sheaths). Ligule membranous, 1-6mm in length. Flower spike upright at first, later strongly arching as the spikelets mature. Spikelets slender, strongly overlapping each other alternately along a central axis, 20-40mm with 8-16 florets. Lemmas 7-12mm, overlapping, downy, with an awn 7-15mm in length. A very distinctive species, forming tight clumps of pale but richly-coloured, green leaves that have broad blades but which narrow down abruptly at the base.

Common False-brome Common False-brome Common False-brome Common False-brome
Habit
Habit
Early flower spike
Flowering spike
Common False-brome Common False-brome Common False-brome Common False-brome
Early spikelet
Stem and leaf base
Leaf upperside
Leaf ligule


Heath False-brome      Brachypodium pinnatum

Native throughout most of Eurasia, favouring open places on limestone soils. Plants 30-120cm in height, forming loose to compact clumps. Leaf blades 2-6mm wide, sparsely hairy or hairless, green to yellowish-green, rather stiff and erect. Leaf sheaths rounded and smooth (sometimes hairy on the lower sheaths). Ligule membranous, 1-2mm in length. Flower spike upright or slightly nodding, but not arched. Spikelets slender, strongly overlapping each other alternately along a central axis, 20-40mm with 8-22 florets. Lemmas 6-10mm, overlapping, hairless or with just a few hairs, with an awn 1-5mm in length.

Note: This species is often called Tor-grass in older books, but due to a taxonomic split, that name now belongs to Brachypodium rupestre, a species that does not occur in our area (though it is not far away in Lincolnshire).

Heath False-brome Heath False-brome Heath False-brome Heath False-brome
Flowering spike
Flowering spike
Flowering spikelets
Flowering spikelets
Heath False-brome
Leaves


Rat's-tail Fescue      Festuca myuros

Native throughout Europe and the Mediterranean Region, eastwards to the Himalays and India. Plants 10-70cm in height, larger plants tussocky with many stems but single- or few-stemmed in drier sites. Leaf blades 0.5-3mm wide, flat or inrolled, downy above, smooth beneath. Leaf sheaths rounded and smooth. Ligule membranous, short to medium. Flower spike narrow and gracefully upright. Spikelets 7-10mm long, with 3-7 florets, loosely spaced in the spike. Lemmas 5-7mm long with a long and slender awn to 15mm in length.

Rat's-tail Fescue Rat's-tail Fescue Rat's-tail Fescue Rat's-tail Fescue
Habit
Habit on wall
Early spikelets
Early spikelets
Rat's-tail Fescue Rat's-tail Fescue Rat's-tail Fescue Rat's-tail Fescue
Flowering spikelets
Stem and node
Leaf
Leaf ligule


Floating Sweet-grass      Glyceria fluitans

Native throughout Europe to North-west Africa, the Caucasus and Turkmenistan. Plants to 100cm in height but often much less and typically forming creeping mats that spread out onto the surface of open water. Leaf blades 3-10mm wide, green, hairless, flat and abruptly pointed at the tip, flat or folded along the midrib. Leaf sheaths hairless, smooth, often purple-tinted. Ligule membranous, 5-15mm long. Flower spike 10-54cm long, typically forming a slender, wand-like panicle, the branches spreading at anthesis and later closing together. Spikelets 18-35mm, narrowly oblong, slightly compressed, with 8-16 florets. Glumes oblong or elliptic-oblong, membranous. Lemmas 5.5-6.5mm long, rounded on the back, distinctly narrowed towards the tip and having 7 prominent veins; overlapping broadly at first, but later curling in at the margins.

Floating Sweet-grass Floating Sweet-grass Floating Sweet-grass Floating Sweet-grass
Habit
Spikelet
Spikelet close up
Glumes close up
Floating Sweet-grass Floating Sweet-grass Floating Sweet-grass Floating Sweet-grass
Fruiting spikelet
Leaf base and sheath
Leaf tip
Leaf ligule