Avenella flexuosa(L.) Drejer

wavy hair-grasswavy hairgrass

WFO wfo-0000852552 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Avenella flexuosa, photographed by Pavel Kacl
fig. a Pavel Kacl, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-12 / obs. 205803519

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 113 botanical countries

Regions where Avenella flexuosa is native: Algeria, Burundi, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madeira, Morocco, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Falkland Is., Iran, Japan, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, North Caucasus, Sakhalin, Taiwan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, West Siberia, Borneo, Nepal, Philippines, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Føroyar, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Greenland, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Labrador, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, Uruguay AlgeriaBurundiCongoDR CongoEthiopiaKenyaMoroccoRwandaTanzaniaUgandaFalkland Is.IranJapanKamchatkaKhabarovskKrasnoyarskMagadanNorth CaucasusSakhalinTaiwanTranscaucasusTürkiyeWest SiberiaBorneoNepalPhilippinesWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraineAlabamaArkansasConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaGreenlandIllinoisIndianaKentuckyLabradorLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNova ScotiaOhioOklahomaOntarioPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsinArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestArgentina SouthChile CentralChile NorthChile SouthUruguay MadeiraFøroyarSardegnaDelawareDistrict of Columbia
Native distribution of Avenella flexuosa, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Greenland GNL
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Kentucky KTY
Labrador LAB
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Iran IRN ASIA-TEMPERATE
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Khabarovsk KHA
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Magadan MAG
North Caucasus NCS
Sakhalin SAK
Taiwan TAI
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
West Siberia WSB
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Burundi BUR
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Ethiopia ETH
Kenya KEN
Madeira MDR
Morocco MOR
Rwanda RWA
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Argentina South AGS
Chile Central CLC
Chile North CLN
Chile South CLS
Uruguay URU
Borneo BOR ASIA-TROPICAL
Nepal NEP
Philippines PHI
West Himalaya WHM
Falkland Is. FAL ANTARCTICA

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Flowering 39 in flower of 75 examined

Proportion of examined Avenella flexuosa in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 0 1 too few examined
Feb 0 0 too few examined
Mar 0 1 too few examined
Apr 2 2 too few examined
May 4 6 67% 30% to 90%
Jun 13 24 54% 35% to 72%
Jul 15 23 65% 45% to 81%
Aug 4 9 44% 19% to 73%
Sep 0 4 too few examined
Oct 0 2 too few examined
Nov 0 2 too few examined
Dec 1 1 too few examined

Peak flowering in May. Each bar is the share of Avenella flexuosa observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 39 of 75 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 8 months have fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for them. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 134 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Aira alba Vahl ex Roem. & Schult.
  • Aira alpina Sobol. ex Rupr.
  • Aira arenaria F.W.Schmidt
  • Aira argentea Bellynck
  • Aira argentea var. pallida Lecoq & Lamotte
  • Aira caryophyllaea Leers
  • Aira collina (Dumort.) Foerster
  • Aira corsica Tausch
  • Aira cuprina (Schur) Fuss
  • Aira euflexuosa Syme
  • Aira flammosa Buc'hoz ex Honck.
  • Aira flexilis L. ex Giseke
  • Aira flexuosa L.
  • Aira flexuosa f. capillaris G.Mey.
  • Aira flexuosa f. pallida Berlin
  • Aira flexuosa f. violacea Peterm.
  • Aira flexuosa subsp. collina Dumort.
  • Aira flexuosa var. albida Desp.
  • Aira flexuosa var. americana Roem. & Schult.
  • Aira flexuosa var. aprica Wimm. & Grab.
  • Aira flexuosa var. argentea Fousny & Callard
  • Aira flexuosa var. aurea Soest
  • Aira flexuosa var. barstii Prahl
  • Aira flexuosa var. buchenaui Asch. & Graebn.

and 110 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.