Rough Meadow Grass

How to spot it

At first glance, this looks like a typical grass. Quite tall, with its flat flowers hanging from the ends of short stalks, arranged along the stem like a Christmas tree. But rub your fingers along the fresh stem and you’ll notice it is slightly rough. Pull the leaf away from the stem a little bit and you’ll see a membrane-like triangle – known as a ligule, this is distinctly long and pointy on Rough Meadow Grass.

Where to spot it

Rough Meadow Grass not only grows in all kinds of grassland, but also in marshes, ditches, wastelands and woodland glades. It’s also found on lawns but struggles to survive if mown regularly.

Don’t mistake it with

Smooth Meadow Grass looks very similar but lacks the roughness of the stem, and its ligule, that membrane at the junction of the stem and leaf, is not pointy in shape.