Twitch grass?
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Twitch grass?
- From: "* T* <n*@lehmann.mobot.org>
- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 11:48:10 CST6CDT
- Priority: normal
> Twitch grass?
In England we (oops, I mean "they" -- so much for 18 months' U.S.
residency) use this name for the grass Elytrigia repens (= Elymus repens,
Agropyron repens). It has a long, thin, snaggly underground stem, not
unlike hedge bindweed and just about as difficult to eradicate. You leave
a half inch in the ground and it'll grow back. Unlike hedge bindweed,
there's nothing even vaguely ornamental about the plant. However, being a
grass, you can spray it with that weedkiller that kills only grasses. I
tried it once: it converted the grass into an interesting purple-leaved
form for a few months, but didn't kill it. I don't know whether the
Tassie version is the same species. It may well have been taken out there
as a nostalgic keepsake of British gardens....
Nick.
