Alopecurus
Encyclopedia
Alopecurus L.
, or Foxtail Grass, is a genus
of the grass family Poaceae
with 25 to 35 species.
Foxtails occur in northern temperate
regions. They can be annual
or perennial
. They grow in tufts. They have flat leaves
and blunt ligules (a small flap at the junction of leaf and stem). Their inflorescence is a dense panicle
(a branching head without terminal flower
) with 1-flowered spikelets. A few, particularly A. myosuroides, are considered weed
s, others are very decorative and are used in bouquets of dried flowers.
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, or Foxtail Grass, is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of the grass family Poaceae
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
with 25 to 35 species.
Foxtails occur in northern temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
regions. They can be annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
or perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
. They grow in tufts. They have flat leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
and blunt ligules (a small flap at the junction of leaf and stem). Their inflorescence is a dense panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
(a branching head without terminal flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
) with 1-flowered spikelets. A few, particularly A. myosuroides, are considered weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
s, others are very decorative and are used in bouquets of dried flowers.
Species
- Alopecurus aequalisAlopecurus aequalisAlopecurus aequalis is a common species of grass known by the common name shortawn foxtail.It is native to much of the temperate Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America, where it can be found in many types of habitat.-Description:...
- Orange Foxtail, Shortawn Foxtail- Alopecurus aequalis aequalis - Short-awn Meadow-foxtail, Shortawn Foxtail
- Alopecurus aequalis sonomensis - Sonoma Shortawn Foxtail, Sonoma Alopecurus
- Alopecurus alpinus - Alpine Foxtail
- Alopecurus alpinus alpinus - Boreal Alopecurus
- Alopecurus anthoxantoides
- Alopecurus arundinaceusAlopecurus arundinaceusAlopecurus arundinaceus is a rhizomatous perennial species in the Grass family . Native to Eurasia and widely introduced elsewhere, this sod forming grass is useful as a forage and for erosion control.-External links:*...
- Reed Foxtail, Creeping Foxtail, Creeping Meadow Foxtail - Alopecurus bonariensis
- Alopecurus brachystachus
- Alopecurus bulbosus - Bulbous Foxtail
- Alopecurus carolinianusAlopecurus carolinianusAlopecurus carolinianus is a species of grass known by the common names Carolina foxtail and tufted foxtail.It is native to much of North America, including most of the United States and western Canada. It may be an introduced species in many areas, however...
- Carolina Foxtail, Tufted Meadow Foxtail - Alopecurus creticus - Cretan Meadow Foxtail
- Alopecurus dasyanthus
- Alopecurus geniculatusAlopecurus geniculatusAlopecurus geniculatus is a species of grass known by the common name water foxtail or Marsh foxtail.It is native to much of Eurasia and North America, where it grows in moist areas. This is a perennial grass forming bunches of erect stems up to about 60 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves...
- Bent Foxtail, Marsh Meadow Foxtail- Alopecurus geniculatus geniculatus - Water Foxtail
- Alopecurus geniculatus microstachys - Water Foxtail
- Alopecurus geniculatus patagonicus
- Alopecurus heliochloides
- Alopecurus japonicus - Japanese Foxtail
- Alopecurus lanatus
- Alopecurus magellanicus
- Alopecurus magellanicus bracteatus
- Alopecurus magellanicus magellanicus
- Alopecurus myosuroidesAlopecurus myosuroidesAlopecurus myosuroides is an annual grass, found on cultivated and waste land. It is also known as Slender Meadow Foxtail, Black-Grass, Twitch Grass, Black Twitch.-Description:...
- Slender Meadow Foxtail, Black Grass, Twitch Grass, Black Twitch - Alopecurus pratensisMeadow FoxtailAlopecurus pratensis, known as the Meadow Foxtail or the Field Meadow Foxtail, is a perennial grass, belonging to the grass family . It is native to Europe and Asia....
- Meadow Foxtail - Alopecurus rendlei - Rendle's Meadow Foxtail
- Alopecurus saccatusAlopecurus saccatusAlopecurus saccatus is a species of grass known by the common name Pacific foxtail, or Pacific meadow foxtail.It is native the west coast of the United States from Washington to California, where it grows in moist areas at low elevations. This is an annual grass forming tufts of stout, erect stems...
- Pacific Foxtail - Alopecurus utriculatus
- Alopecurus vaginatus