Looks a bit like the flower stem of an Astilbe but I wouldn't be too sure.

Thanks for the reply but Ive googled the astilbe and thats deffinatley not it. The plant has no flowers just the stems. Thanks, Lee

No idea, we really need a photo of the whole plant so we can see leaves. What sort of size is it?

Essential to know what the leaves look like for ID - at the moment,in these pics, it reminds me of a crop, like barley or wheat. What colour were the flowers and what time of year? although answering this question is no good without info on the leaf formation.

Is it some kind of Pontederia (Pickle Weed)??????

Harlow carr has some fantastic grasses. There appears to be nodes along the stems too.

The plant has not got any leaves, the stems in the pictures are the only part of the plant. Its similar to a grass in structure and shape. And yes it has nodes along the stems also. Thanks for the replies

is it one of the ornamental horsetails. though the dead 'flower' looks wrong.

could it be one of the sedges?

yeah, its very similar to the horsetail in shape as a plant but I dont think my plant's stems are as thick as that. Not sure about it being a sedge. I don think its native to this country either.

Im not sure if Ive given the best description......... its form is more that of a grass. If you can imagine a feather grass shape but made up of these stems that arch over and dont all stand upright, thats as close as I can get to a good desription, sorry.

I bought it from harlow carr and I think it was an AGM plant at the time.

Okay, so its a grass or sedge of some description - what colour were the stems - green? Or brown? Or red or yellow? and how long are the stems? And did they have long, tasselly or feathery heads, or shorter ones? Or were the heads bottle brush shaped?

The stems are green with brown nodes similar to that of bamboo along the stems. The stems are around 50-60cm long. The heads are as you see in the picture but they were "fuller" when it was healthy.

Only two I can think of are Lazuras ovatus or Luzula nivea - the first is an annual but seeds itself, the second is supposed to be perennial.

its not lagurus ovatus or luzula nivea........ thanks for the suggestions, Lee

After all this time Ive finally found out what this plant is, thanks to a trip to Kew Gardens this weekend!

For those who are still interested its part of the Restionaceae family.

What's it called though?

Oh, sorry, thought Id named it............ Its a Thamnochortus spicigerus as far as I can tell

Dear oh dear, what name. Not one I know, thanks for the info.

Thanks for letting us know, looks like a bit of a thug to me.

A thug?? How dare you?, haha! Each to their own I suppose.

It's classed as a reed rather than sedge or grass.