KILDARE WILDLIFE COLUMN: A ground carpet of Purple Moor-grass

Have you noticed the ground dominated by the golden leaf litter of Purple Moor-grass (Fionnán as Gaeilge) in your area?

This grass is native and widespread in Ireland.

It grows in dense tussocks, that is compact tufts, with the long, flat and pointed green leaves having a purple tinge at the leaf sheath.

The leaf sheath is circular and encloses young leaf shoots and is located at the base of the leaf. This grass flowers from July to August with the flowers held on wiry stems that can reach up to 1metre in height.

In autumn this grass dies back for the winter with the leaves turning a golden colour which is referred to as leaf litter. Many caterpillars of butterflies and moths are known to feed on this grass making it an important food plant.

However, the tussock forming nature and the dense leaf litter in autumn is very successful at competing with other grassland plants as the length of the leaves can create shade on the surface limiting other plants from growing.

One example of this is on one of Kildare’s butterfly reserves Lullymore West.

This site is managed for the Marsh Fritillary butterfly which feeds on the leaves of Devil’s-Bit Scabious. The leaves of Devil’s-Bit Scabious grow close to the ground and as the site is a wet grassland it also favours the growth of Purple Moor-Grass.

Over time the Irish Peatland Conservation Council noticed an increase in the population of Purple Moor-grass and a decrease in population of Devils’ Bit Scabious. To manage this, with the help of local landowners, IPCC were able to introduce grazing donkeys to the reserve. The donkeys love feeding on the juicy leaves of Purple Moor-grass and once eaten allows more light reach the reserve surface helping to encourage the growth of Devil’s-Bit Scabious.

While today I am not familiar with the harvesting of Purple Moor-grass for use, I did learn last summer that the leaf litter was collected traditionally and weaved to make rope.

If you spot a local wildlife species and would like to learn more send your wildlife image to [email protected].