What is Hair grass mini?

Hair grass mini (scientific name: Eleocharis belem) is a slow-growing carpeting plant that has leaves that tend to grow more horizontally compared to traditional Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula).

Hair grass minis is often used to refer to 3 different types of plants, Eleocharis parvula, Eleocharis belem, and Eleocharis acicularis. Both Eleocharis belem and Eleocharis acicularis are commonly referred to as mini dwarf hairgrass, in this post, when we discuss Mini Dwarf Hairgrass, we’ll be referring to Eleocharis belem.

Dwarf Hairgrass vs Hair grass mini: What’s the Difference?

There are three distinct differences between dwarf hairgrass and mini dwarf hairgrass: size, growth rate, and appearance.

Dwarf hairgrass will grow to be much larger, and can reach about 4 inches in length. Mini dwarf hairgrass will rarely reach over 3 inches in height, it’s a slow grower, and even with regular trimming and a high-light CO2-injected environment, dwarf hairgrass will only send off a few runners each week. It’s much slower at carpeting the substrate compared to fast-growing plants such as Glosso.

Hair grass mini also looks slightly different. As the leaves of this plant grow, the tips tend to grow horizontally rather than vertically. In the more common Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) the leaves only grow vertically.

• Family : Cyperaceae
• Origin : Indigenous to North America
• Height : 3-5 cm
• pH : 6.5 – 8.5
• Temperature : 21-28°C