A quick guide to some specialist woodland grasses
I have been meaning to start a series on the UK’s grass species for some time. After a few grass-focused outings this spring, I have decided now is the time. This post, and those to follow, aim to make grass identification a little less daunting for beginners by offering identification tips, quick field clues and habitat notes to help you identify grasses with confidence.
Over time, I will add more pages covering different habitats and grass groups as I continue learning myself, but for now, let’s take a look at some specialist woodland grasses. As ever, all images included are my own unless otherwise stated.
Wood Melick Melica uniflora
Wood Melick Melica uniflora is a dainty and rather beautiful grass of well-managed, typically ancient woodland. Flowering from spring into early summer, it often forms dense tufted patches through rhizomatous spread.
It is a distinctive species, recognised by its graceful sprays of bead-like flowers, ranging from brown to purplish, borne at the tips of fine, branching stems. Confusion is most likely with Mountain Melick Melica nutans, though that species is very rare in much of the UK. To be certain, look for the distinctive bristle pressed against the stem opposite the leaf ligule. The flowers of Wood Melick are also borne on several branches, unlike the next species.
Mountain Melick Melica nutans
This is a rather rare and presumably declining grass of woodland overlying limestone. You are rather unlikely to come across it in your average woodland, but if you do, good for you!
Altogether rarer than Wood Melick and rather more striking in appearance, Mountain Melick Melica nutans is typically found in woodland over limestone. It bears a one-sided spike of relatively large flowers which, unlike those of M. uniflora, hang delicately from the main stem rather than from side branches. This species also lacks the distinctive bristle or barb at the base of the culm leaves.
Wood Millet Milium effusum
Another grass with delicate, airy, bead-like spikelets, though quite different to the previous two. Wood Millet Milium effusum is a tall woodland grass of damper soils, recognised by its broad, dull green, hairless leaves and rather prominent ligule.
Its tiny, one-flowered spikelets are borne towards the tips of long, drooping branches, creating an elegant, open panicle. The glumes are as long as the entire spikelet and are green with a pale margin, as shown in the image below. Altogether, it is one of the more distinctive woodland grasses.
Wood Fescue Drymochloa sylvatica
A rather rare and quite lovely grass, this one has its heartlands in Scotland, Wales and the north of England. Its niche habitat means it is unlikely to be encountered in most woodlands.
A grass of moist, shaded cliffs, ravines and overhangs within ancient woodland, often close to rivers, Wood Fescue Drymochloa sylvatica is a humidity-loving species, typically growing in inaccessible places where competition from other plants is limited.
It forms dense tussocks of flat, shiny evergreen leaves which arch upwards at around 45 degrees, drooping only slightly at the tips. Looking into the tussock, the leaf sheaths are a rich dark brown to purplish colour, lending the base of the plant a distinctive appearance.
Unlike other large woodland fescues, it lacks clasping auricles, while the flowers are unawned. The leaves are also entirely hairless, further helping to separate it from similar woodland grasses.
Wood Barley Hordelymus europaeus
A tall, short-lived grass of woodland over calcareous soils, Wood Barley Hordelymus europaeus is one of our scarcest woodland grasses and has undergone a steady decline across much of its range.
Fortunately, it is the only true barley-like grass likely to be encountered in woodland, and its flower spikes are rather distinctive. Looking more closely, the whole plant is coarsely hairy and bears prominent clasping auricles which project more or less horizontally. In the absence of flowers, this helps separate it from similarly hairy species of Bromopsis. The basal sheaths are also brown rather than reddish, another useful distinction from Bromopsis.
Giant Fescue Schedonorus giganteus
A rather tall perennial grass of shady spots within ancient and well-managed woodland, Giant Fescue Schedonorus giganteus is a robust tufted species, often reaching 150 cm in height. It has bright green leaves and distinctive clasping auricles with a purplish tinge, a feature unique among our larger woodland grasses.
The leaves are virtually hairless, tapering gradually to a fine point, while the ligule is short and fairly unobtrusive. Its flower spikes have a distinctive untidy appearance, owing to their long, wavy awns.
Hairy-brome Bromopsis ramosa
One of the commoner woodland grasses, Hairy-brome Bromopsis ramosa is a species of shaded corners and heavier soils. It is a distinctive tall grass with arching flowerheads, densely hairy sheaths, variably hairy leaves and a prominent ragged ligule.
The lemmas bear long awns and, importantly, the drooping flowerheads usually have just two branches at the lowest node. A rarer related species, Lesser Hairy-brome Bromopsis benekenii (not yet encountered by the author) typically has 3–5 branches at the lowest node instead.
False Brome Brachypodium sylvaticum
A common grass of shaded woodland, wooded banks and other habitats on heavier soils, False Brome Brachypodium sylvaticum is a clump-forming species which develops distinctive pale green, drooping tussocks.
The leaf sheaths are hairy, at least towards their lower portions, while the ligule is relatively long and pointed. Its flower spikes are also distinctive, initially held upright before arching gracefully over, and are composed of long, slender, overlapping spikelets arranged alternately along the stem.
