The plant feather grass is common in almost all regions of Russia. It has an original look, which allows it to be used in landscape design and in bouquet compositions. This is a well-known feather grass.
Numerous types of feather grass form interesting natural compositions, and the effect is achieved thanks to a variety of leaf shapes and colors. This article presents the most common varieties of feather grass, as well as the characteristics and properties of the feather grass.
general description
This culture represents a rather large group of steppe plants that grow in the forest-steppe and steppe zone, in semi-desert and mountainous regions throughout the Earth. They can be found on almost all continents. This is a group of perennial, densely soddy cereals whose root system is quite powerful. They grow in communities.
In fact, the plant is a steppe grass. The steppes where fescue and feather grass grow are called fescue-feather grass.
An inflorescence is a panicle collected in a brush that forms spikelets typical of all cereals. The period of abundant flowering is from late May to early June. Due to the variety of feather grass colors, magnificent steppe landscapes are formed.
Plant seeds are carried by the wind. Reproduction is anemochoria. But there is another way (zoochoria), in which the seeds are attached to the hair of animals and spread across the steppes, but this happens less often. The young feather grass begins to bloom only in the third year of vegetation.
Kinds
There are various species of this family of steppe inhabitants, and the most common among them are the following:
- Feathery feather grass is one of the most numerous steppe grasses. It reaches a height of one meter, the stems are covered with fluff, the leaves are narrow.
- Feathery hairy or tyrsa (more detailed description later in the article).
- Ukrainian feather grass is an endemic plant. This is one of the smallest species (60 cm). The spikelet is one-flowered with a rare panicle. The variety is included in the Red Books of the Russian regions, as well as in the Ukrainian and Russian books.
- The thinnest is one of the rarest feather grasses with very delicate and thin stems (height up to 70 cm). The leaves are covered with hard bristles, so they are rough to the touch. In inflorescences, spikelets have a purple hue. Flowering occurs in June.
- Feathery-leaved - bluish-green, dense grass with a height of up to 80 cm. Leaves - flat plates with pubescence both on the upper and lower sides. It is currently an endangered species.
Feather grass-like: photo
The feather grass is popularly called “tyrsa”, “sheep’s death” or “pernik”. It belongs to the Cereals family (Myatlikov subfamily). It is difficult to confuse with other plant species.
This is a low variety of plants (up to 80 cm). Flat leaves have a grayish-green hue, the inflorescence is abundantly pubescent, reaching 20 centimeters in length. Spikelets are not very large. The flowering period is from spring to mid-June.
This species of feather grass in many regions of Russia is on the verge of extinction. This is due to the active process of plowing and reclamation of virgin steppe areas. In connection with these circumstances, feather grass of this species is listed in many Red Books of the regions.
This plant is also called simply the feathery hairy (photo presented in the article) or tyrsa.
Use in the household
Feather grass is valuable as livestock feed. Its stems, mowed at the very beginning of summer, are good food for horses and sheep. Cattle do not feed on them.
However, at a time when the feather grass is flowering, grazing livestock in steppe meadows is not advisable. Rather sharp stitches of the feather grass, like needles, pierce the mucous membrane of the mouth and the skin of animals, thereby causing terrible pain to them. There is inflammation and swelling, and often there is suppuration at the site of punctures. This trouble is called "feather grass disease."
Beneficial features
Feather grass, like other species of the family, is widely used in folk medicine. People from ancient times appreciated its effective healing properties. It is used in the treatment of rheumatism, goiter, joint pain, prostate adenoma and multiple sclerosis. It is also indispensable for paralysis.
The aboveground part should be prepared for future use. Harvest time - flowering period (from late May to mid-June). The cut parts of the plant are laid out in the shade and dried for several days. The dried raw materials are finely chopped and poured into paper bags. Store in a dry room at room temperature.
All parts of the feather grass (including the feather grass feather) are usually used for the manufacture of medicinal infusions and decoctions. Rhizomes should be harvested after drying of the aerial parts of the plant in late autumn. In the absence of experience in the collection of medicinal herbs, it is better to purchase dry feather grass in pharmacies.
It should be remembered that this plant, like most others, has some contraindications. You should refrain from using drugs from it for people suffering from asthma and allergies to cereals.
