Herb: Mutton Grass


Latin name: Poa fendleriana


Family: Gramineae (Grass Family)



Edible parts of Mutton Grass:

Seed - cooked. A mild flavour, the seed can be cooked in stews etc, or can be ground into a powder and used in making bread, porridges, dumplings or whatever. A famine food, it is only used when all else fails. The seed is rather small and fiddly to harvest.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
50 cm
(1 foot)

Habitat of the herb:

Sagebrush desert to wooded areas at mid elevations on mountains and occasionally on dry ridges in the south of its range.

Propagation of Mutton Grass:

Seed - surface sow in the spring in a cold frame. Do not allow the compost to dry out. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in the spring. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Cultivation of the herb:

Sagebrush desert to wooded areas at mid elevations on mountains and occasionally on dry ridges in the south of its range.

Medicinal use of Mutton Grass:

None known

Known hazards of Poa fendleriana:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.