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Colonial Bentgrass

Colonial Bentgrass

Agrostis capillaris

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How common: Very common

Colonial Bentgrass is a fine, narrow‑leaved perennial grass that grows in tight tufts. You often see it in meadows, lawns and along paths. In early to mid‑summer it carries a loose, airy spray of tiny purple‑brown flowers that later turn pale.

Did you know?

  • It tolerates trampling well, which is why it is widely used in lawn and pasture seed mixes.
  • It can cross with closely related bentgrasses.

About the species

Identification

Forms small to medium tufts, 25–100 cm tall. Stems upright and thin. Leaves flat, smooth and very narrow (2–4 mm), shorter than the stems. The tiny white flap where the leaf base hugs the stem is very short (about 1 mm). Flowering head 4–12 cm, first narrow, then opening into a loose, airy spray, usually purple‑brown, fading with age. Look‑alikes: Creeping Bentgrass spreads with long surface runners and has a much longer, pointed flap at the leaf base; Colonial Bentgrass does not. Flowers in Finland in June–July.

Plant group

Grasses, sedges and rushes

Habitat

meadow

Flowering

Jun–Jul

About the habitat

Found in meadows, pastures, lawns, yards, roadsides, field edges and waste ground; thrives in places shaped by people and regular wear. Common throughout the country.

Sources

Photo: Peter de Lange, CC0 1.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6131092357

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40593

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Sisävedet: rantaniityt, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40593

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40593

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Abies-Allium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40593

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurmir%C3%B6lli

See also