Early Hair-grass - Aira praecox

Description

A short erect plant, usually less than 10cm cm tall with bristle-like grey green leaves which soon wither. It has a dense, oval to oblong spike like panicle, smooth leaf sheaths and untoothed, 3 mm long ligules.

Identification difficulty
Recording advice

Photograph the whole plant in its habitat

Habitat

Dry, sandy places, rocky outcrops and heath grassland.

When to see it

Flowering April to June

Life History

Annual.

UK Status

Widespread in Britain, but rather local.

VC55 Status

Locally frequent in Charnwood Forest, occasional elsewhere in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 30 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Small Hair-Grass, Early Hair-grass
Species group:
Grasses, Rushes & Sedges
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Poales
Family:
Poaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
12
First record:
26/04/2007 (Dave Wood)
Last record:
20/07/2023 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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