Scientific Family
Poaceae
Other common names
orange foxtail
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
Yes
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Cool
Grows in wet meadows, forest openings, shores, springs, and along streams, as well as in ditches, along roadsides, and in other disturbed sites from sea level to sub alpine elevations.
Plant Community
Riparian
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
0
High elevation
8000
Similar species
Phleum pratense
General Description
This perennial grass is 3/4 to 1-1/2 feet tall, consisting of a flowering stem with several alternate leaves. Each stem terminates in a slender cylindrical seedhead that is 1 to 3 inches long.
Flat blades. Awns straight, not exceeding the glumes. Alopecurus aequalis can be distinguished from other Alopecurus spp. by its short awns, which extend no more than about 1 mm from the tips of its 1-flowered spikelets.
Grass type
Perennial bunchgrass
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
12 inches or more
Seedhead Structure
Branched - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
May
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Less than 1/4 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
The single-flowered spikelets are densely compressed along the entire length of each seedhead; they are overlapping, ascending and soft. Spikelets are all alike and fertile. Flowers in bloom have white to yellow to bright orange anthers.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
No
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
The leaf blades are flat, slender and 1-1/2 to 5 inches long. They are ascending to widely spreading. The upper and lower blade surfaces are medium green to grayish-green and smooth. Leaf sheaths loosely clasp the upright stems.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
The foliage is browsed when young, but becomes less palatable as it matures. Nutritive value is poor.