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Aira caryophyllea — common silver-hairgrass

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Facts

Common silver-hairgrass is an exotic annual grass with a fairly wide distribution in North America. It is native to Eurasia and Africa and introduced nearly worldwide. The earliest New England record of this species is from Nantucket, Massachusetts in the 1880s, probably via ships' ballast dumping. It jumped to the mainland (Cape Cod) around 1913, and is now fairly common in sandy and disturbed soils in New England except for Maine and Rhode Island.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, grassland, meadows and fields, woodlands

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont
Leaf blade width
0.3–2.5 mm
Inflorescence branches
the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
Spikelet length
2–3.5 mm
Glume relative length
one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets
Awn on glume
the glume has no awn
One or more florets
there is more than one floret per spikelet
Lemma awn length
2.4–3.5 mm
Leaf sheath hair type
there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
Leaf ligule length
1.2–8 mm
Anther length
0.2–0.5 mm
Show all characteristics
  • Flowers

    Anther length
    0.2–0.5 mm
    Anther number
    3
    Awn on glume
    the glume has no awn
    Bristles below spikelets
    no
    Floret lower bract texture
    the lemma is hard and firm
    Floret number
    2
    Floret types within spikelet
    all the florets within a spikelet are similar
    Glume awn length
    0 mm
    Glume keel
    • NA
    • the glume keels are rough or hairy
    Glume relative length
    one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets
    Glume shape
    the glume is flat or curved in cross-section
    Glume veins
    • 1
    • 3
    Glumes per spikelet
    2
    Inflorescence arrangement
    the spikelets are uniform
    Inflorescence axis orientation
    the inflorescence axis is straight
    Inflorescence branch length
    Up to 7.3 cm
    Inflorescence branch roughness
    the inflorescence branches are somewhat to very rough
    Inflorescence branches
    the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
    Inflorescence crowding
    the panicle is somewhat to very spread out, with clearly-evident branches
    Inflorescence length
    12–135 mm
    Inflorescence length to width ratio
    0.8–1.4
    Inflorescence type (general)
    the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches
    Inflorescence type (specific)
    the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes
    Inflorescence width
    15–100 mm
    Inforescence position
    the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem
    Lemma awn base
    the awn is attached at the lower half of the lemma (it emerges from near the base of the lemma)
    Lemma awn coiled
    the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn
    Lemma awn length
    2.4–3.5 mm
    Lemma awn number
    the lemma has one awn on it
    Lemma awn orientation
    • the awn of the lemma is straight
    • the awn of the lemma on dried or older plants is curved or bent outwards
    Lemma base hair length
    0.2–0.4 mm
    Lemma base hairs
    the lemma has hairs at the base
    Lemma cross-section
    the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint
    Lemma hairs
    the lemma is hairless between the veins
    Lemma keel hairs
    the keel of the lemma is hairless
    Lemma marginal vein hairs
    the marginal vein of the lemma is hairless
    Lemma surface
    the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)
    Lemma tip
    the lemma tip is split into two or more points
    Lemma tip shape
    the lemma tip tapers to a long narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)
    Lemma vein number
    5
    Lower glume length
    2–3.5 mm
    Lower glume relative length
    the lower glume is nearly as long, or as long as, the upper glume
    One or more florets
    there is more than one floret per spikelet
    Palea length
    1.4–1.7 mm
    Palea relative length
    palea is one half to fully as long as lemma
    Reproductive system
    all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)
    Spikelet axis tip
    • there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
    • there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
    Spikelet disintegration
    the spikelet breaks off above the glumes, so that after the florets fall off, the glumes remain
    Spikelet length
    2–3.5 mm
    Spikelet number per node
    0
    Spikelet pedicel
    the spikelets have pedicels
    Spikelet pedicel length
    0.9–7 mm
    Spikelet position
    the spikelets emerge mainly from the upper halves of the inflorescence branches
    Spikelet shape
    • the spikelets are oblong (rectangular, but with rounded ends) in profile
    • the spikelets are ovate (egg-shaped, widest below the middle with rounded ends) in profile
    Spikelets spiny
    the spikelets do not appear spiny
    Tip of glume
    the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)
    Upper glume length
    2–3.5 mm
    Upper glume relative length
    the upper glume is more than one half as long as the lowest lemma
    Upper glume shape
    the upper glume is widest at or below the middle
  • Fruits or seeds

    Groove on seed
    the caryopsis has a groove running most of its length
    Seed length
    1.4–1.5 mm
  • Growth form

    Horizontal rooting stem
    no
    Lifespan
    the plant lives only a single year or less
    Rhizomes
    no
    Roots
    there are only slender roots on the plant
  • Leaves

    Basal leaves
    the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem
    Leaf auricles
    the leaves do not have auricles
    Leaf basal lobe hairy
    NA
    Leaf blade cross-section
    the leaf blade is clearly folded or rolled inwards
    Leaf blade hairs
    the leaf blade is hairless, but it may have tiny prickles that give it a sand-papery feel
    Leaf blade length
    0.3–13.5 cm
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery
    Leaf blade width
    0.3–2.5 mm
    Leaf ligule length
    1.2–8 mm
    Leaf ligule type
    the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane
    Leaf margin glands
    there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade
    Leaf sheath closed around stem
    the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)
    Leaf sheath hair type
    there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
    Leaf sheath hairs
    there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
    Orientation of topmost leaf
    the flag leaf is held upright, or at less than a 45 degree angle out from the stem
  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • edges of forests
    • grasslands
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • meadows or fields
    • woodlands
  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Hairs at nodes
    the stem nodes are hairless or they have very sparse hairs
    Plant height
    4.5–55 cm
    Roots at lower stem nodes
    no
    Stem hairs
    • the stem has hairs on it
    • the stem is nearly to completely hairless
    Stem node number
    2–3
    Stem orientation
    the stems are upright
    Stem spacing
    the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Occurs only in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: UPL)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

var. caryophyllea

Massachusetts
not applicable (S-rank: SNA)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

1.  Aira caryophyllea L. var. caryophyllea E

common silver-hairgrass. Aspris caryophyllea (L.) Nash • CT, MA, NH, VT. Open, often sandy 
and disturbed, soils, such as roadsides, fields, and woodland edges.

Native to North America?

No

Sometimes confused with

Aira praecox:
panicles 3-7 mm wide, spike-like, with appressed branches and stems scabrous below the nodes (vs. A. caryophyllea, with panicles 15-100 mm wide, relatively open, with ascending branches and stems smooth).

Synonyms

  • Aspris caryophyllea (L.) Nash

Family

Poaceae

Genus

Aira