Deschampsia

a genus of perennial grasses of the family Gramineae. The inflorescence is a panicle, and the spikelets have 2-3 flowers. There are about 60 species (up to 100 according to other data) in cold and temperate regions of the northern and southern hemispheres and the mountains of the tropics. About 15 species grow in the USSR. Tufted hair grass (D. caespitosa) is widespread; it is a grass growing in large dense tussocks, frequently forming large thickets in moist and marshy meadows, shrubs, clearings, and the shores of bodies of water; livestock eat the young plants. Wavy hair grass (D. flexuosd) is found primarily in the northern half of the European USSR, chiefly in dry pine groves, meadows, and brush; it is a pasture plant and a valuable feed plant for reindeer.