Yorkshire Fog

Holcus lanatus

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Poales

Family:

Poaceae (Grass)

Also in this family:

Annual Meadow-grass, Arrow Bamboo, Bermuda Grass, Blue Moor-grass, Bread Wheat, California Brome Grass, Canary Grass, Cocksfoot, Common Cord-grass, Common Millet, Common Reed, Corn, Couch Grass, Creeping Soft-grass, Crested Dog's-tail, False Oat-grass, Greater Quaking Grass, Hairy Brome Grass, Italian Rye Grass, Knotroot Bristlegrass, Lyme Grass, Marram Grass, Marsh Foxtail, Mat Grass, Meadow Foxtail, Mountain Melick, Pampas Grass, Perennial Rye Grass, Purple Moor-grass, Quaking Grass, Reed Canary Grass, Reed Sweet-grass, Rough Meadow-grass, Six-rowed Barley, Small Sweet-grass, Smooth Meadow-grass, Soft Brome Grass, Sweet Vernal Grass, Timothy Grass, Two-rowed Barley, Wall Barley, Wild Oat, Wood Melick

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Maximum Size:

1 metre tall

Habitats:

Grassland, meadows, moorland, roadsides, wasteland, woodland.

Flower:

Green, no petals

Pink-purple to white spikelets with short hooked awns. The flowers are tipped with a purplish-red tinge.

Fruit:

Dark yellowish-brown seeds. Oval and dark-tipped.

Leaves:

The entire plant is covered in soft downy hairs, including the leaves, but with the exception of the joint stems. The leaves are long and linear. 'Lanatus' (see botanical name) is Latin for woolly, describing the soft hairiness of the plant.

Other Names:

Common Velvet Grass, Dart Grass, Hose Grass, Meadow Soft Grass, Mesquite Grass, Midge Grass, Rot Grass, Soft Grass, Tufted Grass, Tufted Soft Grass.

Frequency (UK):

Common

Similar Species:

Creeping Soft-grass

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map