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Bearded Couch

Bearded Couch

Elymus caninus

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How common: Common

Bearded Couch is a tall, tuft-forming perennial grass. It grows mainly in shady, moist and rich woods and along streams and shores across much of Europe. The narrow, drooping flower head with fine bristles makes it easy to spot in summer.

Did you know?

  • Stems can appear bluish-green or even reddish-purple.
  • It has three named varieties and can sometimes cross with closely related Elymus species.

About the species

Identification

Tuft-forming grass 50–120 cm tall. Upright, smooth stems, sometimes slightly hairy; green, sometimes bluish-green or reddish-purple. Leaves narrower than a centimetre (4–10 mm), flat, thin, with a few hairs on top. Flower head 10–20 cm, narrow and usually drooping. Along the central stalk, the small flower clusters sit one by one at each joint with their flat side against the stalk; many have bristles 1–2 cm long that give a bearded look. Seeds are grains. Differs from common couch by its tussocky growth and bending head (common couch creeps and has a stiff, straight head); unlike wild barleys, there is only one cluster at each joint, not three. Flowers in Finland in June–July.

Plant group

Grasses, sedges and rushes

Habitat

herb-rich forest

Flowering

Jun–Jul

About the habitat

Moist, nutrient-rich deciduous woods, alder swamps, stream and river banks, and coastal forests and thickets. Common in most of Finland; rarer in parts of East and Central Finland.

Sources

Photo: Jono, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6353330936

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Tunturit: tunturikoivikot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40533

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Dactylis-Epilobium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40533

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koiranvehn%C3%A4

See also