Annual Beard-grass: a new species for County Down (H38)

03/11/2023 EDIT: actually a rediscovery, this species was recorded in Belfast pre-1930

Earlier this year, I found a species of grass I didn’t recognise, growing as a pavement plant in East Belfast. With a guide I identified it as Polypogon monspeliensis (Annual Beard-grass), a new species for County Down.

This species is known from Dublin and Cork, and there is a previous Ulster record from Keady in Armagh. It may continue to increase in urban areas, like many plants of pavements and waste ground that have recently colonised Ireland.

This record featured in the September 2022 edition of BSBI News – my first appearance!