© Michal Ducháček, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) · iNaturalist
Overview
Catapodium 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
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height4" - 1'
Width/Spread2" - 6"
Bloom Information
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 strawFoliage Description
green to blue-greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
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
Water & Climate
Water Needs
Drought Tolerance
Drought tolerant when established