Poaceae

Crested wheat grass

Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.

Family: Poaceae
Genus: Agropyron

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Crested wheat grass (Agropyron cristatum) — FlowerPhoto: Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (23)

Arabic: قزوف عرفي
arz: قزوف عرفى
Bulgarian: Гребеновиден житняк
Chinese: 冰草, 沙蓬, 光穗冰草, 多花冰草
Croatian: Krestavi pir
Czech: Žitňák hřebenitý
English: Crested wheat grass, Crested wheatgrass, Fairway crested wheat grass
Estonian: Harilik kammhein
Finnish: Ketoharjasvehnä, Agropyrum cristatum, Harjasvehnä, Kampaharjasvehnä
French: Agropyre à crête, Chiendent à crête
German: Kammquecke
Hungarian: Taréjos búzafű
Kazakh: Еркек шөп
Korean: 밀풀
Latvian: Ķemmveidīgā pavārpata
Macedonian: Гребенест пиреј
Mongolian: Саман ерхөг
Norwegian Bokmål: Kamkveke
nv: Tłʼoh deintłʼizí
Persian: چمنگندمی تاجخروسی
Russian: Житняк гребенчатый, Житняк гребневидный, Пырей гребенчатый, Житняк понтийский
Serbian: Češljasta pirevina
Swedish: Kamvete

Synonyms

Agropyron aristatum Besser
Agropyron barginensis Skvortsov
Agropyron brandzae Pantu & Solacolu
Agropyron brandzae subsp. ciliatum (Grinţ.) Dihoru & Negrean
Agropyron brandzae var. nyaradyanum Morariu
Agropyron bulbosum var. ciliatum Grinţ.
Agropyron bulbosum var. ciliatum Grinţ.
Agropyron bulbosum var. dunense Grinţ.
Agropyron bulbosum var. dunensis Grinţ.
Agropyron cristatiforme P.K.Sarkar
Agropyron cristatum f. calvum (Schur) Boza & Vasic
Agropyron cristatum f. hirsutissimum Krylov
Agropyron cristatum f. imbricatum (Roem. & Schult.) Bukhteeva
Agropyron cristatum f. multiflorum Maire
Agropyron cristatum f. pauciflorum Maire
Agropyron cristatum f. pectiniforme Bukhteeva
Agropyron cristatum f. villosum (Litv.) Bukhteeva
Agropyron cristatum subsp. baicalense T.V.Egorova & Sipliv.
Agropyron cristatum subsp. brachyatherum (Maire) Dobignard
Agropyron cristatum subsp. brandzae (Pantu & Solacolu) Melderis
Agropyron cristatum subsp. cristatum
Agropyron cristatum subsp. dunense (Grinţ.) Dihoru & Negrean
Agropyron cristatum subsp. dunensis (Grinț.) Dihoru & Negrean
Agropyron cristatum subsp. erikssonii (Melderis) Á.Löve
Agropyron cristatum subsp. hamadanicum Yousofi
Agropyron cristatum subsp. imbricatum (Roem. & Schult.) Á.Löve
Agropyron cristatum subsp. incanum (Nábelek) Melderis
Agropyron cristatum subsp. kazachstanicum Tzvelev
Agropyron cristatum subsp. pachyrrhizum (A.Camus) Á.Löve
Agropyron cristatum subsp. pectinatum (M.Bieb.) Tzvelev
Agropyron cristatum subsp. pinifolium (Nevski) Bondarenko ex Korovina
Agropyron cristatum subsp. ponticum (Nevski) Tzvelev
Agropyron cristatum subsp. puberulum (Boiss.) Tzvelev
Agropyron cristatum subsp. sabulosum Lavrenko
Agropyron cristatum subsp. sclerophyllum Novopokr.
Agropyron cristatum subsp. stepposum (Dubovik) Á.Löve
Agropyron cristatum subsp. tarbagataicum (Plotn.) Tzvelev
Agropyron cristatum var. baicalense (T.V.Egorova & Sipliv.) T.V.Egorova & Sipliv.
Agropyron cristatum var. balchikense Velchev & P.Vassil.
Agropyron cristatum var. calvum (Schur) Domin

and 99 more.

Flowers

In flower: June to July (from 134 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Graminoid
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Alaska: introduced, Canada: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Anders Hastings, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: mfeaver, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: stephen, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jozefsu, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Zac Peterson, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Jozefsu, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Braden J. Judson, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Sdjurovic, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky), CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Sdjurovic, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Agropyron

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.