Distribution Map

Vegetative Morphology
Plants	short-lived perennials; rhizomatous.
Culms	30-110 cm.
Ligules	1.3-5 mm, truncate.
Blades	6-40 cm long, 3-12 mm wide.
Upper sheaths	somewhat inflated.
Reproductive Morphology
Panicles	3-10 cm long, 7-13 mm wide.
Glumes	3.6-5 mm, connate 1/5-1/3 their lengths, sparsely pubescent, keels not winged, ciliate.
Lemmas	3.1-4.5 mm, connate for at least 1/3 their lengths, glabrous or sometimes with scattered hairs near the tips.
Awns	1.5-7.5 mm, geniculate, exceeding the lemmas by 0-3 mm.
Anthers	2.2-3.5 mm.

Chromosome Number(s)

2n = 26, 28, 30.

Nativity / Range

Native to Eurasia, extending north of the Arctic Circle and south to the Mediterranean.

Typical Habitat(s)

Wet, moderately acid to moderately alkaline soils, on flood plains, vernal ponds, and along rivers, streams, bogs, potholes, and sloughs.

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Additional Notes

It was introduced for pasture in North Dakota and now occurs more widely, having been promoted as a forage species, and is sometimes used in seed mixtures for revegetation projects.

Name/Synonymy Publication Info

Alopecurus arundinaceus Poiret in Lam., Encycl. 8:766 (1808). HOL: P; cultivated at botanical garden in Paris, France.

Alopecurus ventricosus Pers., Syn. pl. 1:80 (1805), nom. illeg., non (Gouan) Hudson (1778); Alopecurus pratensis var. ventricosus Cosson & Durieu, Expl. sci. Alg?rie 2:56 (1855). TYPE: France.

Alopecurus ruthenicus Weinm., Bot. Gart. Dorpat 10 (1810). HOL: LE (Trinius Herb.); cultivated at botanical garden in Universit?t zu Dorpat [Tartu], Estonia.

Alopecurus nigricans Hornem., Hortus bot. hafn. 1:68 (1813); Alopecurus pratensis subsp. nigricans (Hornem.) Hartman, Sv. norsk exc.-fl. 11 (1846). HOL: C; Russia: Volga River.

Alopecurus brachystachyus M.-Bieb., Fl. Taur.-caucas. 3:56 (1819); Alopecurus ventricosus var. brachystachys (M.-Bieb.) Hackel in O. Fedtsch. & B. Fedtsch., Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 28:77 (1908). TYPE: Russia: "Transbaikal" [Siberia].

Alopecurus repens M.-Bieb., Fl. Taur.-caucas. 3:54 (1819). TYPE: Russia: southern Russia.

Alopecurus lasiostachys Link, Hortus berol. 1:71 (1827). TYPE: Spain.

Alopecurus exaltatus Less., Linnaea 9:207 (1835). HOL: CW (Lessing Herb.); Russia: Ural region.

Alopecurus castellanus Boiss. & Reuter, Biblioth. Universelle Gen?ve, n.s., 38:218 (1842); Alopecurus pratensis var. castellanus (Boiss. & Reuter) Maire & Weiller in Emb. & Maire, Cat. pl. Maroc 4:928 (1941); Alopecurus arundinaceus subsp. castellanus (Boiss. & Reuter) Rivas Mart., Fern. Gonz. & Sánchez Mata, Opusc. Bot. Pharm. Complut. 2:104 (1986). TYPE: Spain: Aranjuez, Matriti to Manzanares, Chamartin Colemar viejo, Guadarrama, etc.; G.F. Reuter.

Alopecurus muticus Kar. & Kir., Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 15:527 (1842). HOL: LE; Kazachskaja [Kazakhstan]: Songoria [Dzungaria], near Dschiis-ahatsch to Ajagus [Ajaguz] River; Aug 1841; G.S. Karelin and I.P. Kirilov 2089.

Alopecurus pratensis var. armenus K. Koch, Linnaea 21:381 (1848); Alopecurus armenus (K. Koch) Grossh., Fl. Kavk., ed. 2, 1:173 (1939); Alopecurus arundinaceus subsp. armenus (K. Koch) Tzvelev, Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 8:18 (1971). TYPE: Armenia: old Armenian monastery Saurp Garabied; alt. 3800 ft.

Alopecurus ruthenicus var. exserens Griseb., in Ledeb., Fl. ross. 4:464 (1852); Alopecurus ventricosus var. exserens (Griseb.) Asch. & Graebner, Syn. mitteleur. Fl. 2¹:134 (1899). TYPE: Russia: Caucasus and Siberia

Alopecurus salvatoris Loscos ex Willk., Oesterr. Bot. Z. 40:144 (1890). TYPE: Spain: Aragon.

Treatment From

W.J. Crins. Alopecurus in Flora of North America, volume 24. In prep. Oxford University Press.

Vegetative Morphology