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  11. Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum...

 

Sweet Vernal Grass

The sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) is a species from the family of grasses (Poaceae) that can grow to heights of 30 to 50 cm. It prefers bright, dry areas to grow. In Central Europe, it already begins to flower in April.

The sweet vernal grass contains relatively high amounts of the phytochemical coumarin which leads to its characteristic sweet scent. This scent is also what the Latin odoratum in its scientific name refers to.

Please keep in mind: Coumarin is not well tolerated by pet birds so you should not feed this type of grass to them or only in very low quantities.

Sweet Vernal-grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum)
Sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum)
Sweet Vernal-grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum)
Sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum)

You can find more photos of this species on NABU-naturgucker.de (German website, but also available in English language).

German – English translation: Sarah Wiechers