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Anthoxanthum odoratum
Also called Sweet vernal grass, Scented Vernal Grass, Sweet Scent Vernal Grass, Large Sweet Vernalgrass, Bison Grass, Holy Grass, Large Sweetgrass
Anthoxanthum odoratum is a short-lived perennial grass, commonly known as sweet vernal grass, that is native to acidic grassland in Eurasia and northern Africa. It is grown as a lawn grass and a houseplant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be found on unimproved pastures and meadows. The specific epithet odoratum is Latin for 'odorous'.
It is grown by scattering seed on tilled ground in the spring through fall, germinating in 4 to 5 days. It prefers sandy loam and acidic conditions (a low pH). As an agricultural grass it has a low yield, but can grow on land too acidic for other grasses.
Anthoxanthum odoratum is native to Europe and temperate parts of Asia, but is widely introduced and naturalised so that distribution is now Circumpolar Wide-temperate. It is ubiquitous at the 10 km square level in Britain.
Annual vernalgrass · Southern Holy Grass · Anthoxanthum gracile · Anthoxanthum occidentale · Sweet Holy Grass · Hornwort · Hierochloe australis · Anthoxanthum cupreum · Hierochloe odorata
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Anthoxanthum odoratum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
