wild grasses habitat table

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Wild Flower*

Introduction Page Links of Wildlife on Plant Photographic Galleries
Ant
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WILD FLOWER GALLERY PAGES

Site Map for Wildflower Family Pages and Comparison Pages with photo content (o)
Wild Flower Plant Index a-h
Wild Flower Plant Index i-p
Wild Flower Plant Index q-z

Introduction

WILD FLOWER FLOWER COLOUR

(o)White Flowers 1
(o)White Flowers 2
(o)White Flowers 3
White Flowers
White Flowers
(o)Cream Flowers 1
Cream Flowers
Cream Flowers
(o)Yellow Flowers 1
(o)Yellow Flowers 2
Yellow Flowers
Yellow Flowers
Orange Flowers 1
(o)Red Flowers 1
(o)Pink Flowers 1
(o)Pink Flowers 2
Pink Flowers
Pink Flowers
(o)Mauve Flowers 1
Mauve Flowers
Mauve Flowers
(o)Purple Flowers 1
Purple Flowers
Purple Flowers
Purple Flowers
(o)Blue Flowers 1
Blue Flowers
Blue Flowers
(o)Green Flowers 1
Green Flowers
Green Flowers
Green Flowers
Brown Flowers 1
(o)Multi-Coloured Flowers 1
(o)Shrub/Small Tree Flowers 1
Shrub/Small Tree Flowers
Shrub/Small Tree Flowers

WILD FLOWER FRUIT OR SEED COLOUR

(o)Fruit or Seed Colour 1
(o)Fruit or Seed Colour 2
Fruit or Seed Colour
Fruit or Seed Colour
Fruit or Seed Colour

FLOWER BED WITH WILD FLOWERS PICTURES

WildFlower Bed Pictures 1
(o)WildFlower Bed Pictures 2

HABITAT TABLES
Flowers in Acid Soil
Flowers in Chalk Soil
Flowers in Marine Soil
Flowers in Neutral Soil
Ferns
Grasses
Rushes
Sedges

WILD FLOWER FAMILY PAGES

(o)Adder's Tongue Family
Amaranth Family
Arrow-Grass Family
Arum Family
(o)Balsam Family
Bamboo Family
(o)Barberry Family
(o)Bedstraw Family
(o)Beech Family
(o)Bellflower Family
(o)Bindweed Family
(o)Birch Family
(o)Birds-Nest Family
(o)Birthwort Family
(o)Bogbean Family
(o)Bog Myrtle Family
(o)Borage Family
(o)Box Family
(o)Broomrape Family
(o)Buckthorn Family
(o)Buddleia Family
(o)Bur-reed Family
(o)Buttercup Family
(o)Butterwort Family
(o)Clubmoss Family
(o)Cornel (Dogwood) Family
(o)Crowberry Family
(o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1
(o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 2
Cypress Family
(o)Daffodil Family
(o)Daisy Family
(o)Daisy Cudweeds Family
(o)Daisy Chamomiles Family
(o)Daisy Thistle Family
(o)Daisy Catsears Family
(o)Daisy Hawkweeds Family
(o)Daisy Hawksbeards Family
(o)Daphne Family
(o)Diapensia Family
(o)Dock Bistorts Family
(o)Dock Sorrels Family
Duckweed Family
Eel-Grass Family
(o)Elm Family
(o)Figwort - Mulleins Family
(o)Figwort - Speedwells
Family
(o)Filmy Fern Family
(o)Flax Family
(o)Flowering-Rush Family
(o)Frog-bit Family
(o)Fumitory Family
(o)Gentian Family
(o)Geranium Family
(o)Glassworts Family
(o)Gooseberry Family
(o)Goosefoot Family
Grass Family 1
(o)Grass Family 2
Grass Family 3
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 1
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 2
Grass Soft Bromes 3
(o)Hazel Family
(o)Heath Family
(o)Hemp Family
Herb-Paris Family
(o)Holly Family
(o)Honeysuckle Family
Horned-Pondweed Family
(o)Hornwort Family
(o)Horsetail Family
(o)Iris Family
(o)Ivy Family
(o)Jacobs Ladder Family
(o)Lily Family
(o)Lily Garlic Family
(o)Lime Family
(o)Lobelia Family
(o)Loosestrife Family
(o)Mallow Family
(o)Maple Family
(o)Mares-tail Family
(o)Marsh Pennywort Family
(o)Melon (Gourd/Cucumber)
Mesembryanthemum Family
(o)Mignonette Family
(o)Milkwort Family
(o)Mistletoe Family
(o)Moschatel Family
Naiad Family
(o)Nettle Family
(o)Nightshade Family
(o)Oleaster Family
(o)Olive Family
(o)Orchid Family 1
(o)Orchid Family 2
(o)Peaflower Family
(o)Peaflower Clover Family
(o)Peaflower Vetches/Peas Family
(o)Parnassus-Grass Family
Peony Family
(o)Periwinkle Family
Pillwort Family
Pine Family
(o)Pink Family 1
(o)Pink Family 2
Pipewort Family
(o)Pitcher-Plant Family
(o)Plantain Family
(o)Polypody Family
(o)Pondweed Family
(o)Poppy Family
(o)Primrose Family
(o)Purslane Family
Quillwort Family
Rannock Rush Family
(o)Reedmace Family
(o)Rockrose Family
(o)Rose Family 1
(o)Rose Family 2
(o)Royal Fern Family
(o)Rush Family
(o)Rush Woodrushes Family
(o)Saint Johns Wort Family
Saltmarsh Grasses
(o)Sandalwood Family
(o)Saxifrage Family
Seaheath Family
(o)Sea Lavender Family
(o)Sedge Rush-like Family
(o)Sedges Carex Family 1
(o)Sedges Carex Family 2
(o)Sedges Carex Family 3
(o)Sedges Carex Family 4
(o)Spindle-Tree Family
(o)Spurge Family
(o)Stonecrop Family
(o)Sundew Family
(o)Tamarisk Family
Tassel Pondweed Family
(o)Teasel Family
(o)Thyme Family 1
(o)Thyme Family 2
(o)Umbellifer Family 1
(o)Umbellifer Family 2
(o)Valerian Family
(o)Verbena Family
(o)Violet Family
(o)Water Fern Family
(o)Waterlily Family
(o)Water Milfoil Family
(o)Water Plantain Family
(o)Water Starwort Family
Waterwort Family
(o)Willow Family
(o)Willow-Herb Family
(o)Wintergreen Family
(o)Wood-Sorrel Family
Yam Family
Yew Family

Acid Soils have few basic minerals such as calcium and magnesium and are typically formed on rocks such as sandstones and granites.

Annual plants live for a year or less.

Base-rich or basic soils have large amounts of basic minerals (mainly calcium) and so are only slightly acid, neutral or alkaline.

Bogs occur on wet, more or less acid peat, and are often dominated by sphagnum mosses and sedges.

Calcareous soils are formed over chalk and limestone, and so are extremely base -rich. They are never more than slightly acid at the surface, and typically have a rich flora.

Casual plants appear only irregularly and are not native to the area.

Cones in horsetails and clubmosses are the fertile, spore-bearing region, more or less clearly differentiated from the stem.

Dunes are areas of wind-blown, usually calcareous shell-sand near the sea, with areas of damp ground termed 'slacks' in between.

Fens occur on base-rich peat, in contrast to bogs which are acid; the source of the bases is always infiltrating water from the surrounding land, since peat has no mineral reserves. Poor fens are nutrient-poor or acid, changing to bogs.

Heaths are dry, heather- or gorse-dominated areas in lowland regions, with rather acid soils. Wet heaths lie between bogs and heaths.

Margin is edge.

Marshes are wet habitats on mineral soils, though often with a thin layer of peat.

Moors are the upland counterpart of heaths and are typically dominated by heather, though bilberry, grasses or mosses may be important components.

Peat is a soil wholly composed of the un- or partially decomposed remains of plants which once grew on the site. It typically occurs in waterlogged conditions in which decomposition is very slow. Peats are found in fens and bogs.

Perennials are plants that survive for more than a single growing season.

Rhizomes are underground stems, from which shoots arise, sometimes swollen with stored food. They may be horizontal and far-creeping, short, or even upright.

Slack is a damp area in a sand-dune system.

Waste places are areas much disturbed by man, but not cultivated.

Wintergreen is a plant that remains green through the winter.

Ivydene Horticultural Services logo with I design, construct and maintain private gardens. I also advise and teach you in your own garden. 01634 389677

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Why do so few wildflower plant nurseries who supply directly to garden owners in the UK and so few garden owners in the UK donate the use of their wildflower plant photos of the flower, foliage, form or fruit/seed to this website? Where else can you compare plants by flower colour, foliage colour, form or fruit/seed shape/colour with their soil type, soil moisture, sun aspect and height?

Ivydene Gardens Wild Flower Gallery: Wild Grasses in Habitat Table

The data in the following is from The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe by R.Fitter, A.Fitter and M. Blamey (ISBN 0 00 219715 4 paperback 0 00 219765 0 hardback) reprinted :-

Woodland formed of deciduous trees has a flora of plants that come into leaf and flower early and catch the light before the leaves on the trees cut it out. Plants such as Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula) and Bluebell (Endymion non-scriptus) are characteristic. Most of the low-lying part of Great Britain would naturally be covered in oakwood. Beech trees often intercept so much light that in some beechwoods no plants can survive except those such as the Birdsnest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis), living on dead leaves. Britain is on the edge of the beechwood range and is found mainly in the south of England.
Pinewoods have leaves on the trees all year, but natural pinewoods have well-scattered trees and ample light, and seem very different from the sombre plantations. The flora normally comprises dwarf shrubs, mainly in the heather family (Ericaceae), of which the commonest is heather Calluna vulgaris. When the trees are cleared, the same areas form the vast tracts of heather moorland, so characteristic opf the British hills. These moors have very few plants in their flora.
Grasslands have very different flowers depending on whether they are on acid, neutral or lime-rich soils, and whether they are cut for hay or grazed. In grazed pastures the plants are often low-growing, with their buds low down and protected. Hay-meadows, usually neutral grassland, contain taller plants, flowering in spring and early summer, but they too have their buds low down.
Saltmarshes formed in estuaries are often grass-covered, and also include many members of the Goosefoot family. Many of the plants are succulent (Glassworts - Salicornia) and flower late in the year. Succulence enables them to counteract the salt in the soil.

The data in the following table is from Collins Pocket Guide to The Grasses, Sedges, Rushes and Ferns of Britain and Northern Europe by R.Fitter, A.Fitter and A. Farrer (ISBN 0 00 219136 9) first published :-

A Habitat Table with its Wild Grass Plants:-

Grasses
Plants with long narrow grass-like leaves, either borne on a stem or in a tussock, sometimes of great size. These may be Grasses, which have rounded stems, usally rather soft leaves with a distinct, easily removed sheath round the stem, and unique flowers. They are found in almost all habitats and may be annual or perennial.
Calcareous Soils
Ground Condition	Ground Moisture: Dry	Ground Moisture: Moister	Ground Moisture: Wet
	Habitat: Mountain Rocks	Habitat: Chalk and Limestone Grassland	Habitat: Fen
Open	Sheep's Fescue Vivaparous Fescue Wood Meadow-grass	Blue Moor Grass Cocksfoot Crested Dogstail Crested Hair-grass Downy Oat-grass False Brome False Oat-grass Fern Grass Mat-grass Fescue Meadow Oat-grass Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass Purple-stem Catstail Quaking Grass Red Fescue Sheep's Fescue Sweet Vernal Grass Tall Fescue Tor Grass Upright Brome Yellow Oat-grass Yorkshire Fog	Common Couch Common Reed Creeping Bent Cut Grass Floating Sweet-grass Hybrid Sweet-grass Marsh Foxtail Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea Purple Small-reed Reed Canary-grass Reed Sweet-grass Rough Meadow-grass Small Sweet-grass Swamp Meadow-grass Velvet Bent Whorl Grass Wood Small-reed
	Habitat: Mountain Tops of Downs	Habitat: Upland Grassland
	Sheep's Fescue	Blue Moor Grass Common Bent Crested Dogstail Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue Heath Grass Mat Grass Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass Red Fescue Sheep's Fescue Spreading Meadow-grass Yorkshire Fog
Scrub

Wooded	Habitat: Rocky Woods	Habitat: Deciduous Woods and Hedges
	Common Bent Mountain Melick Sweet Vernal-grass Wavy Hair-grass Wood Meadow-grass	Bearded Couch Broad-leaved Meadow-grass Chewings Fescue Cocksfoot Creeping Soft-grass False Brome Giant Fescue Hairy Brome Rough Meadow-grass Wood Barley Wood Meadow-grass Wood Melick Wood Millet Wood Small-reed
	Habitat: Walls, Lowland Rocks	Habitat: Conifer Woods
	Cocksfoot Fern Grass Flattened Meadow-grass Smooth Meadow-grass Soft Brome	Crested Hair-grass Hairy Brome Mountain Melick Wavy Hair-grass Wood Meadow-grass
Understorey


Neutral Soils
Ground Condition	Ground Moisture: Dry	Ground Moisture: Moister	Ground Moisture: Wet
	Habitat: Waste Ground, Urban Sites, Disturbed Ground, Paths	Habitat: Agricultural Grassland, Rough Grassland, Road Verges	Habitat: Marsh
Open	Annual Meadow-grass Barren Brome Bread Wheat Common Couch Creeping Bent Cultivated Oat False Oat-grass Fern Grass Flattened Meadow-grass Foxtail Barley Italian Ryegrass Maize Perennial Ryegrass Ratstail Fescue Six-rowed Barley Smooth Meadow-grass Soft Brome Squirreltail Fescue Two-rowed Barley Wall Barley Yorkshire Fog	Annual Meadow-grass Chewings Fescue Cocksfoot Common Bent Common Couch Creeping Bent Crested Dogstail False Oat-grass Hybrid Fescue Italian Ryegrass Meadow Barley Meadow Fescue Meadow Foxtail Perennial Ryegrass Red Fescue Rough Meadow-grass Smooth Meadow-grass Soft Brome Squirreltail Fescue Tall Fescue Timothy Tufted Hair-grass Wall Barley Wood Small-reed Yellow Oat-grass Yorkshire Fog	Common Couch Common Reed Creeping Bent Cut Grass Floating Sweet-grass Hybrid Sweet-grass Marsh Foxtail Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea Purple Small-reed Reed Canary-grass Reed Sweet-grass Rough Meadow-grass Small Sweet-grass Swamp Meadow-grass Tufted Hair-grass Velvet Bent Whorl Grass
	Habitat: Arable Land	Habitat: Bare Damp Ground	Habitat: In Water
	Annual Meadow-grass Black Bent Black Grass Bread Wheat Bristle Oat Common Couch Creeping Bent Cultivated Oat Maize Ratstail Fescue Rye Rye Brome Six-rowed Barley Smooth Brome Two-rowed Barley Wild Oat Yorkshire Fog	Creeping Bent Marsh Foxtail Orange Foxtail Small Sweet-grass Whorl Grass	Common Reed Floating Sweet-grass Plicate Sweet-grass Reed Canary-grass Reed Sweet-grass Whorl Grass
		Habitat: Damp Meadows	Habitat: Riversides
		Cocksfoot Common Bent Creeping Bent Crested Dogstail Downy Oat-grass Heath Grass Hybrid Fescue Meadow Barley Meadow Fescue Meadow Foxtail Perennial Ryegrass Purple Moor-grass Quaking Grass Red Fescue Reed Sweet-grass Rough Meadow-grass Smooth Meadow-grass Spreading Meadow-grass Sweet Vernal Grass Tall Fescue Timothy Tufted Hair-grass Velvet Bent Yellow Oat-grass Yorkshire Fog	Common Couch Common Reed Creeping Bent Cut Grass Floating Sweet-grass Hybrid Sweet-grass Marsh Foxtail Orange Foxtail Purple Small-reed Reed Canary-grass Reed Sweet-grass Rough Meadow-grass Small Sweet-grass Swamp Meadow-grass Velvet Bent Whorl Grass
Scrub

Wood

Understorey


Acid Soils
Ground Condition	Ground Moisture: Dry	Ground Moisture: Moister	Ground Moisture: Wet
	Habitat: Heath	Habitat: Moor	Habitat: Bog, Tundra
Open	Brown Bent Common Bent Early Hair-grass Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue Heath Grass Mat Grass Purple Moor-grass Sheep's Fescue Silver Hair-grass Vivaporous Fescue Wavy Hair-grass	Brown Bent Common Bent Early Hair-grass Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue Heath Grass Mat Grass Purple Moor-grass Sheep's Fescue Silver Hair-grass Vivaporous Fescue Wavy Hair-grass	Purple Moor-grass
	Habitat: Walls, Lowland Rocks	Habitat: Dry Sandy Grassland and Steppe
	Cocksfoot Early Hair-grass Fern Grass Flattened Meadow-grass Smooth Meadow-grass Soft Brome	Bearded Fescue Common Bent Creeping Soft-grass Crested Dogstail Crested Hair-grass Early Hair-grass Fern Grass Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue Flattenned Meadow-grass Glaucous Hair-grass Heath Grass Meadow Oat-grass Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass Purple-stem Catstail Ratstail Fescue Red Fescue Sheep's Fescue Silver Hair-grass Smooth Meadow-grass Soft Brome Sweet Vernal Grass
	Habitat: Mountain Tops
	Common Bent Sheep's Fescue Wavy Hair-grass
Dwarf Shrub

Scrub

Wood	Habitat: Dry Woods		Habitat: Wet Woods
	Creeping Soft-grass False Brome		Common Reed Creeping Bent Purple Moor-grass Purple Small-reed Reed Canary-grass Rough Meadow-grass Tufted Hair-grass
Understorey


Marine
Ground Condition	Ground Moisture: Muddy	Ground Moisture: Sandy	Ground Moisture: Rocky
	Habitat: Dry Saltmarsh	Habitat: Fixed Dunes	Habitat: Cliffs
Upper Shore	Annual Beard-grass Common Cord-grass Curved Hard-grass Hard Grass Red Fescue Reflexed Saltmarsh Grass Small Cord-grass Southern Beard-grass	Bulbous Meadow-grass Creeping Bent Dune Fescue Early Hair-grass Early Sand-grass Grey Hair-grass Quaking Grass Red Fescue Sand Catstail Sea Barley
	Habitat: Lower Saltmarsh	Habitat: Dune Slack	Habitat: Fixed Shingle
	Bulbous Foxtail Creeping Bent Stiff Saltmarsh Grass	Common Couch Common Reed Creeping Bent Marsh Foxtail Reed Sweet-grass Rough Meadow-grass Velvet Bent Whorl Grass	Bearded Fescue Bulbous Meadow-grass Lyme Grass Marram Red Fescue Rush-leaved Fescue Sand Couch Sea Couch Sea Fern Grass Whorl Grass
		Habitat: Mobile Dune
		Bearded Fescue Bulbous Meadow-grass Grey Hair-grass Lyme Grass Marram Red Fescue Rush-leaved Fescue Sand Couch Sea Couch Sea Fern Grass Whorl Grass
	Habitat: Bare Mud	Habitat: Foreshore	Habitat: Shingle Banks
	Borrer's Saltmarsh Grass Common Cord-grass Common Saltmarsh Grass Perennial Beard-grass Reflexed Saltmarsh Grass Rush-leaved Fescue Small Cord-grass Smooth Cord-grass Stiff Saltmarsh Grass Townsend's Cord-grass	Bearded Fescue Bulbous Meadow-grass Lyme Grass Marram Red Fescue Rush-leaved Fescue Sand Couch Sea Couch Sea Fern Grass Whorl Grass
Lower Shore