Family: Poaceae |
William J. Crins Plants annual or perennial; sometimes shortly rhizomatous, cespitose or occasionally the culms solitary. Culms 5-110 cm, erect or decumbent, occasionally cormlike at the base; nodes glabrous. Leaves inserted mostly on the lower 1/2 of the culms; sheaths open; auricles absent; ligules 0.6-6.5 mm, truncate to acute, membranous, dorsally puberulent or glabrous, entire to lacerate; blades 0.7-12 mm wide, flat or involute, glabrous or scabrous, those of the uppermost leaves sometimes short or absent. Inflorescences terminal panicles, spikelike, capitate to cylindrical; branches usually less than 5 mm, lower branches sometimes to 2 cm; disarticulation below the glumes. Spikelets 1.8-7 mm, pedicellate, strongly laterally compressed, with 1 floret; rachilla prolongations absent. Glumesequaling or exceeding the florets, membranous or coriaceous, free or connate basally to more than 1/2 their length, 3-veined, keeled, keels ciliate, at least basally, apices obtuse to acute or shortly awned; calluses blunt, glabrous; lemmas membranous, margins often connate basally to 1/2 their length, keeled, indistinctly 3-5-veined, apices truncate to acute, awned dorsally, awns arising from just above the base to about midpoint, geniculate or straight; paleas absent or greatly reduced; lodicules absent; anthers 3, 0.3-4.1 mm; ovariesglabrous; styles fused, with 2 branches. Caryopses glabrous; hila short. x = 7. Name from the Greek alopex, fox, and oura, tail, referring to the cylindrical panicles. Alopecurus is a genus of 36 species that grow primarily in open, mesic habitats, native to the northern temperate zone and South America. Four species are native to the Flora region, four were introduced and have become established, and two were introduced and are not known to persist. Some species, including some native to the Flora region, were introduced as pasture grasses outside of their native ranges. Of these, only A. pratensis has become widely naturalized. Some species of Alopecurus can appear similar to Phleum, which has truncate glumes that are abruptly awned or mucronate, lemmas without awns and keels, and well-developed paleas; Alopecurus has glumes that are obtuse to acute and gradually awned or unawned, lemmas with both awns and keels, and paleas that are absent or greatly reduced. |