A beautiful, blue-grey tussock grass found in alpine and subalpine areas. It forms neat, rounded clumps. The blue colour comes from a waxy coating that protects the leaves from cold and wind. The leaves are narrow and soft, arching outward from the centre of the clump. The flower heads are delicate and airy, held on slender stalks above the leaves. They appear in summer, followed by small seeds. The plant is very hardy, surviving extreme cold and snow. It grows in alpine grasslands, rocky slopes, and herbfields, often at the very edge of plant life. Blue tussock provides habitat for alpine insects and lizards. The dense clumps offer shelter from wind and cold. The seeds are eaten by birds. The blue-grey colour is an adaptation to the harsh alpine environment. The waxy coating reflects excess light and reduces water loss. The colour also helps the plant blend in with the surrounding rocks and scree. To find blue tussock is to climb the mountains. Look for the neat, rounded clumps of blue-grey leaves, the delicate flower heads. It is a plant of the high places, a grass of the alpine zone. The blue colour stands out against the grey rock, a flash of colour in the cold. That is blue tussock. Blue-grey, hardy, and alpine. It grows where almost nothing else can. That is enough.