Crested comb

Family: grasses. Grows in meadows and forest clearings in Europe (except the Arctic and steppe regions), in the Caucasus and in Western Asia.

Perennial plants 25–80 cm tall, without creeping underground shoots. Leaf blades linear, 0.1–0.6 cm wide, flat.

Inflorescences one-sided, spike-like, 0.2–0.8 cm long, consisting of spikelets of two kinds: sterile, having the appearance of a comb-lobed little leaf (outer in the inflorescence), and fertile, with 2–5 bisexual flowers (inner in the inflorescence); the lower floral glumes of fertile spikelets 0.3–0.4 cm long, broadly lanceolate, with an awn at the tip up to 0.1 cm long. 2n=14. Flowers in summer.

Used for lawn establishment, and the rather original inflorescences are used for dried bouquets.