Wavy hair-grass
Avenella flexuosa
Wavy hair-grass is a perennial, tufted grass known for its very narrow, rolled, wire-like leaves. It prefers lime-free, nutrient-poor, and acidic soils in heaths, moors, and open woodlands. The silvery-shiny to reddish flower panicles are borne on thin, wavy stalks, giving the plant a delicate and airy appearance.
Details
Habitat function
Serves as a larval host plant for various brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) and as cover for small mammals.
Nutrient uptake
Preferential uptake of nitrogen in the form of ammonium; highly efficient under low nutrient availability.
Food source for
Larvae of the Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) and Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) butterflies; forage for red deer.
Human use
Occasionally used as an ornamental grass for heath gardens or for revegetation of extremely acidic sites.
Ecology
Ecological role
Pioneer species on acidic burnt areas and clear-cuts; key component of acidophilic oak and pine forests.
Competitor species
Often displaced by wood small-reed (Calamagrostis epigejos) when nitrogen levels increase.
Ecosystem service
Soil stabilization on erosion-prone slopes and provision of biomass in nutrient-poor ecosystems.
Threats
Eutrophication (atmospheric nitrogen deposition) and liming of forest soils.
Scientific profile
Profile
Reproduction
Primarily generative via seeds; locally vegetative through slow tussock expansion via short rhizomes.
Protection & threats
Main threats
Eutrophication via atmospheric nitrogen deposition (leading to displacement by more competitive species); scrub encroachment of open land sites upon abandonment of land use.