Spear grass

Description

Achnatherum calamagrostis (syn. Stipa calamogrostis) is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, known by the common names spear grass, needle grass, and silver spike grass. It is an ornamental grass native to the clearings in the mountains of central and southern Europe, which grows in mounds of blue-green leaves and long, silvery plumes. Under the synonym Stipa calamagrostis, this plant, and the cultivars 'Allgäu' and 'Lemperg' have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Achnatherum is a genus of plants which includes several species of needlegrass. Several needlegrass species have been switched between Achnatherum and genus Stipa; taxonomy between the two closely related genera is still uncertain. Achnatherum hymenoides was useful as a food source to Native Americans. Achnatherum brachychaetum is best known as a noxious weed.