SimplePlant

Poaceae

Mountain hairgrass

Vahlodea atropurpurea (Wahlenb.) Fr.

Family
Poaceae
Genus
Vahlodea

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Mountain hairgrass: The large purplish ears are characteristic of this species.
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (4)
Chinese
高山髮草
English
Mountain hairgrass
Finnish
Lapinlauha
Norwegian Bokmål
Rypebunke

Synonyms

  • Aira alpina Vahl
  • Aira atropurpurea Wahlenb.
  • Aira atropurpurea var. magellanica (Hook.f.) Skottsb.
  • Aira latifolia Hook.
  • Aira magellanica Hook.f.
  • Aira pinkeneyi Fr.
  • Avena atropurpurea (Wahlenb.) Link
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea (Wahlenb.) Scheele
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea f. multiflora Holmb.
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea subsp. paramushirensis (Kudô) T.Koyama
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea var. latifolia (Hook.) Scribn. ex Macoun
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea var. minor Vasey
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea var. paramushirensis Kudô
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea var. patentissima (Hultén) G.P.Anderson
  • Deschampsia atropurpurea var. payettii Lepage
  • Deschampsia brachyphylla Phil.
  • Deschampsia hookeriana Scribn.
  • Deschampsia latifolia (Hook.) Vasey
  • Deschampsia pacifica Tatew. & Ohwi
  • Erioblastus paramushirensis (Kudô) Honda
  • Holcus atropurpureus (Wahlenb.) Wahlenb.
  • Vahlodea atropurpurea subsp. latifolia (Hook.) A.E.Porsild
  • Vahlodea atropurpurea subsp. magellanica (Hook.f.) Hyl.
  • Vahlodea atropurpurea subsp. patentissima Hultén
  • Vahlodea atropurpurea var. patentissima Hultén
  • Vahlodea latifolia (Hook.) Hultén
  • Vahlodea latifolia subsp. paramushirensis (Kudô) Elven
  • Vahlodea magellanica (Hook.f.) Tzvelev
  • Vahlodea paramushirensis (Kudô) Roshev.

Characteristics

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

Photos

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.