Catapodium spp.

fern grass

Europe, the Mediterranean, and western Asia

Overview

Catapodium spp. is a small genus of annual grasses in the grass family (Poaceae), native to Europe, the Mediterranean, and western Asia and naturalised more widely. The plants are low tufted annuals 4-12 inches (10-30 cm) tall, often only a few inches across, growing through the cooler months and drying off by summer. Narrow flat leaves form a small clump, above which rise stiff, branched seed heads held in one stiff plane, a structure that gives the fern grass, Catapodium rigidum, its name. The spikelets are flattened and arranged in two neat rows, green to blue-green at first and ripening to pale straw. Flowering and seeding run through spring and early summer, after which the whole plant browns and dies. The genus grows on dry, sunny, sharply drained ground, including walls, pavement cracks, gravel, sand, and rocky waste places, often where little else takes hold. Because it is a short annual that sets seed and dies, it appears and spreads on its own and is treated as a minor weed rather than a planted ornamental.

Native Range

The genus is native to Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and western Asia, growing on dry, open, stony ground. It has naturalised in North America, Australia, and other temperate regions, where it turns up on roadsides, walls, and waste places.

Suggested Uses

The genus has little ornamental use and is most often seen as a self-sown grass of walls, paving, and dry waste ground. It can appear in gravel gardens and on green roofs as part of a spontaneous dry-ground flora. Botanists and naturalists record it as an indicator of thin, dry, sunny soils.

How to Identify

Look for a small, stiff tufted grass with branched seed heads held rigidly in a single flat plane, like a tiny fern frond. The spikelets are flattened and set in two even rows along short, wiry branches. The whole plant is low and wiry, green to blue-green when young and drying to straw as the seed ripens.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height4" - 1'

Width/Spread2" - 6"

Colors

Flower Colors

green

Foliage Colors

green

Fall Foliage Colors

no change

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~6 weeks

Spring Summer

Flowering and seed set run through spring into early summer, generally April to June, as the plant completes its short annual cycle. The small wind-pollinated spikelets shed pollen and then ripen seed quickly. By the start of summer the plant has usually browned off and died, leaving dry seed heads.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

green to straw

Foliage Description

green to blue-green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 8.0(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

sand rocky chalk

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

As a wild annual grass, Catapodium spp. needs no cultivation and grows on dry, sunny, sharply drained ground, tolerating poor sandy, rocky, and limy soils across a pH of about 5.5 to 8.0. It withstands drought and exposure and completes its cycle before summer heat sets in. Seed germinates in autumn or late winter, and plants grow over the cool season and die after seeding. Where it is unwanted on paths, walls, or gravel, plants are pulled or hoed before they set seed. No watering or feeding is needed, since the grass grows on lean, neglected ground. It self-sows freely once present.

Pruning

Pruning does not apply to this small annual grass. Where it is a weed, plants are pulled, hoed, or mown before the seed ripens to limit further spread. Spent dried plants are cleared away by hand at the end of the season.