Deschampsia - Hairgrass

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• Family: Poaceae (Grass) (Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025)
• Other Names: Tussock grass (Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025).

Famine Food Seed Ground Cover, Thatching Headaches, Fevers, Stomach Disorders

General: Perennial tufted grass (Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025).
Lifecycle: Evergreen Perennial (Useful Temperate Plants, 2025).
Flowers: Airy, delicate panicles that are often purplish or bronze-tinged, turning golden in autumn (Jersey-Friendly Yards, 2025). Flowers from June to August (Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025).
Fruits: Small, light seeds with a tuft of hair to aid in wind dispersal (Wildflower Web, 2025).
Leaves: Narrow, deeply grooved, dark green leaves that feel rough in one direction (Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025). Forms a dense, neat mound of foliage (The Watershed Nursery, 2025).
Habitat: Prefers moist to wet areas like damp woods, meadows, marshes, and stream banks (Calscape, 2025; Useful Temperate Plants, 2025). It is often found in poorly drained clay soils (Useful Temperate Plants, 2025).
Range: Widespread distribution across North America, Eurasia, and parts of South America and Central Africa (Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025; Calscape, 2025).
Status: Native to North America and Eurasia (Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025).
Ecological Indicator: Often found in mesotrophic grasslands and can tolerate a wide range of soil types, including those with heavy metal concentrations and high acidity (University of Maryland, 2025; Wikipedia Deschampsia caespitosa, 2025). It is valuable for erosion control, especially along stream banks (The Watershed Nursery, 2025).
Possible Lookalikes: Other native grasses like Fescues (Festuca spp.) and Needlegrass (Stipa spp.) can be found in similar habitats (Calscape, 2025).

Hazards

• No known hazards.

Food Uses

• Seed: The seeds were harvested along with other grass and wildflower seeds to create a flour meal (The Watershed Nursery, 2025; Useful Temperate Plants, 2025). However, the seed is quite small, making its use rather fiddly (Useful Temperate Plants, 2025).

Other Uses

• Ground Cover: Plants form impenetrably dense clumps and when planted close together, they make an excellent ground cover (Useful Temperate Plants, 2025). It is also used in ornamental gardening and landscaping (Wildflower Web, 2025).
• Thatching: *Deschampsia caespitosa* has been used for centuries as a thatching material for roofs, particularly in some parts of Europe (Wildflower Web, 2025).
• Forage: It is used as a forage grass for livestock and is known to be tolerant of heavy grazing and poor soil (Wildflower Web, 2025).

Medicinal Uses

• Plant:
  • *Deschampsia caespitosa* has a history of use in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments, including headaches, fevers, and stomach disorders (Wildflower Web, 2025). The leaves and stems have also been used to make a tea with a purported calming effect (Wildflower Web, 2025).

Phytochemistry

*Deschampsia antarctica* produces phenolic compounds and flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties (MDPI, 2019; ResearchGate, 2021). These compounds help protect the plant from the harsh Antarctic environment, and extracts have been shown to prevent dermal cell damage from UV radiation (MDPI, 2019).

Allelopathy: *Deschampsia caespitosa* has been shown to have allelopathic properties, releasing compounds that can affect other plant species in the community (JRAAE, 2022). These compounds include phenolic compounds (JRAAE, 2022).

Cultivation

*Deschampsia* prefers humus-rich, acidic soil but is adaptable to most soil types, including clay (Useful Temperate Plants, 2025). It thrives in partial shade and moist soil (Better Homes & Gardens, 2023). It is a cool-season grass, with most growth occurring in spring and fall (Better Homes & Gardens, 2023). It can be propagated by seed or by dividing mature clumps every 2-3 years (Better Homes & Gardens, 2023; Useful Temperate Plants, 2025).

• "Deer resistant" (The Watershed Nursery, 2025)
• Site: Prefers partial shade and moist, well-draining soil. Can tolerate full sun in temperate regions with consistent moisture (Better Homes & Gardens, 2023).
• Pruning: Cut back to about 4 inches in late winter (Better Homes & Gardens, 2023).

Mycorrhizae

Information on mycorrhizal associations with *Deschampsia* is not as readily available as for other genera. However, as a widespread grass, it likely forms associations with various arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which are common in grassland ecosystems.

Propagation

Seed: Sow in situ in spring or autumn. Germination usually takes 2-3 weeks at 13°C (Useful Temperate Plants, 2025).

Division: The best way to propagate is by dividing mature clumps every 2-3 years in the spring (Better Homes & Gardens, 2023).

Other Info

Folklore: In traditional folklore, Tufted Hair-grass was believed to have magical properties and was used in rituals to protect against evil spirits and negative energy (Wildflower Web, 2025).

DESCHAMPSIA HAIRGRASS

Family: Poaceae - Grass

Perennial, tufted grasses.
Stem: erect.
Leaf: mostly basal, flat or inrolled. Inflorescence: open or contracted panicle.
Flower: Spikelets with 2 florets.
Fruit: caryopsis (a dry one-seeded fruit).
Seed: small.
Approximately 40 species worldwide, found in temperate and cold regions (Wikipedia Deschampsia, 2025).

Local Species;

1. Deschampsia caespitosa - Tufted Hairgrass ^{[USDA](Calscape, 2025)}
2. Deschampsia flexuosa - Wavy Hairgrass ^{[USDA](Jersey-Friendly Yards, 2025)}
3. Deschampsia danthonioides - Annual Hairgrass ^[USDA]

Uses of Other Related Sp.

Deschampsia flexuosa - Wavy Hairgrass

• Grows well in dry shade and is used in woodland gardens and for wildlife habitat (Jersey-Friendly Yards, 2025; Gardenia.net, 2024). It provides food and cover for birds and small mammals (Gardenia.net, 2024).

Deschampsia antarctica - Antarctic Hairgrass

• One of only two flowering plants native to Antarctica (Wikipedia Deschampsia antarctica, 2025). It is studied for its ability to thrive in extreme conditions and produces compounds that protect it from UV radiation and cold stress (MDPI, 2019; Wikipedia Deschampsia antarctica, 2025). Its populations are expanding, which is linked to rising temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula (Wikipedia Deschampsia antarctica, 2025).

References

• Better Homes & Gardens, 2023. How to Plant and Grow Tufted Hair Grass. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://www.bhg.com/how-to-plant-and-grow-tufted-hair-grass-8383597
• Calscape, 2025. Tufted Hairgrass. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://calscape.org/Deschampsia-cespitosa-(Tufted-Hairgrass)
• Gardenia.net, 2024. Deschampsia flexuosa (Wavy Hair Grass). Accessed August 10, 2025. https://www.gardenia.net/plant/deschampsia-flexuosa
• Jersey-Friendly Yards, 2025. Deschampsia flexuosa. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://www.jerseyyards.org/plant/deschampsia-flexuosa/
• Journal of Research and Applications in Agricultural Engineering, 2022. Preliminary Studies on Allelopathy in Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia caespitosa L.). Accessed August 10, 2025. https://yadda.icm.edu.pl/baztech/element/bwmeta1.element.baztech-c06580e4-03be-44ed-94c7-dd2eed333330
• MDPI, 2019. Extract of Deschampsia antarctica (EDA) Prevents Dermal Cell Damage Induced by UV Radiation and 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/6/1356
• ResearchGate, 2021. Phenolic and flavonoid contents in Deschampsia antarctica plants growing in nature and cultured in vitro. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352836275_Phenolic_and_flavonoid_contents_in_Deschampsia_antarctica_plants_growing_in_nature_and_cultured_in_vitro
• The Watershed Nursery, 2025. Deschampsia cespitosa. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://www.watershednursery.com/nursery/plant-finder/deschampsia-caespitosa/
• University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 2025. Tufted hairgrass Deschampsia cespitosa. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://www.umces.edu/sites/default/files/Tufted-hairgrass-summary.pdf
• Useful Temperate Plants, 2025. Deschampsia caespitosa. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Deschampsia+caespitosa
• Wikipedia, 2025. Deschampsia. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschampsia
• Wikipedia, 2025. Deschampsia antarctica. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschampsia_antarctica
• Wikipedia, 2025. Deschampsia cespitosa. Accessed August 10, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschampsia_cespitosa
• Wildflower Web, 2025. Tufted Hair Grass. Accessed August 10, 2025. http://www.wildflowerweb.co.uk/plant/1685/tufted-hair-grass
• USDA - Deschampsia cespitosa (L.) P. Beauv. - tufted hairgrasshttps://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/DECE, Accessed August 10, 2025
• USDA - Deschampsia danthonioides (Trin.) Munro - annual hairgrass, https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/DEDA, Accessed August 10, 2025
• USDA - Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. - wavy hairgrass, https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/DEFL, Accessed August 10, 2025

Wikimedia Image References

1. Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
2. Carl Axel Magnus Lindman, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=943170
3. Vasey, George, 1822-1893;Richardson, Clifford, 1856-1932;United States. Division of Botany;United States. Department of Agriculture, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons