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Common Name: Tussock Grass
Deschampsia caespitosa is a Evergreen Perennial up to 1.00 metres tall.
It has edible and miscellaneous uses.
Temperate areas of Europe, including Britain, Asia, N. Africa, N. America and Australasia.
Damp woods and meadows, usually on badly drained clay soils[
Prefers a humus-rich acidic soil[
] but it succeeds in most soils[
]. It prefers a soil on the heavier and wetter side[
], but it also grows in drier soils[
]. Does well on damp or wet banks or in open woodland[
Deschampsia cespitosa is an extremely polymorphic, widely distributed grass. Many regional and local variants have been accorded separate status, either at specific or infraspecific rank[
There are several named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[
]. No further details are given, though it is likely that the seed was ground into a flour and used as a cereal. However, the seed is quite small and its use would be rather fiddly[
Plants form impenetrably dense clumps and when planted close together in drifts make an excellent ground cover[
Seed - sow in situ in spring or autumn[
]. Only just cover the seed[
]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 13Â°c[
If seed is in short supply it can be sown in a cold frame in spring, pricked out into individual pots as soon as it is large enough to handle and planted out in early summer.