Dwarf Hairgrass

The dwarf hairgrass traded as Eleocharis sp. 'Mini' arrived in Europe around 2012 through Tropica, which credits Tom Barr with bringing it over; the label points to somewhere near Belém in Brazil, though nothing about the origin is confirmed. Its species status is unsettled and it also circulates as Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini'. The culms are as fine as those of E. acicularis and stay at about 5 cm, often bending sideways or down.

One detail is worth flagging about the numbers here. Flowgrow publishes a tolerance of 18 to 27 °C for this plant and no optimum at all, so this page stores the tolerance itself rather than inventing a narrower figure; pH 5 to 7 and medium to high light come from the same source.

Its job in a scape is the lawn, which it builds through mostly subterranean runners. Growth is moderate and it manages without CO₂ injection, though the mat stays tighter under good light and grows looser and taller under weak light. It spreads on its own once established, and clumps can be split to speed it up.