Alopecurus pratensis L., Sp. Pl. 1: 60 (1753).

T: Habitat in Europae pratis

Illustrated in: Hubbard (1954) 308.

Vegetative form. Perennial, erect or geniculate, caespitose. Leaves mostly basal. Culms 30-110 cm high, unbranched above, 3 noded. Mid-culm nodes glabrous, exposed, not pigmented (brown), constricted. Mid-culm internodes hollow, glabrous, terete. Leaves non-auriculate. Basal leaf sheaths not keeled, terete, glabrous (becoming dark brown), with the veins equally striate, with margins free, membranous, smooth. Ligule 1.5-2.2 mm long, not lobed, narrowly decurrent, membranous to chartaceous, smooth, obtuse, entire, abaxially hairy (minutely). Collar scabrous. Distinct callus at blade-sheath junction absent. Leaf blades joining the sheath gradually, flat, linear, 60-315 mm long, 4-5(-8) mm wide; adaxially scabrous, channelled; abaxially scabrous, with the veins equally striate; with margins scabrous, apices acute or apices blunt and rounded, hooded.

Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual. Rudimentary spikelets absent. Incomplete spikelets absent. Hermaphrodite florets protogynous. Inflorescence of chasmogamous spikelets.

Inflorescence. Conspicuous vestigial foliar structure subtending the infloresence present, or absent. Inflorescence a panicle, pallid and green, erect, contracted (narrow and spike-like, spikelets densely overlapping), to 10 mm wide, oblong or ovate (narrowly), symmetrical, fully exserted. Main inflorescence axis 465-565 mm long. Peduncles 390-510 mm long, glabrous, slightly ridged. Rachides 50-75 mm long, terete, glabrous. Pulvini absent. Primary inflorescence branches sparsely scabrous; solitary (partially fused to rachis, difficult to see), not branched at the base (?), spreading, spiral, without spikelets inserted at the base. Spikelets 2 on a typical ultimate inflorescence branch, on second order branches or on third order branches, erect, spreading.

Hermaphrodite (`perfect') spikelets. Hermaphrodite spikelets pedicellate, 4.7-6.2 mm long, laterally compressed, oblong to elliptic, disarticulating as a separate unit, disarticulating below the glumes. Pedicels 0.3-0.8 mm long, erect, thick, appressed scabrous to puberulous, straight. Glumes two per spikelet, connate (in the lower 1/3), similar, equal in length or subequal, about equalling the florets, equalling the proximal lemma. Lower glume narrowly elliptic, 4.9-6.2 mm long, 0.7-1.3 mm wide, membranous, keeled, without a keel-wing, acute, entire, muticous, margin ciliolate (particularly toward apex); 3 veined, veins prominent (slightly, green), midvein hirsute (and laterals, hairs to 1.2 mm long); intercostal regions glabrous, or intercostal regions hirsute. Upper glume narrowly elliptic, 4.7-6 mm long, 0.7-1.3 mm wide, membranous, keeled, without a keel-wing, acute, entire, muticous, margin ciliolate (particularly toward apex); 3 veined, veins prominent (slightly and green), midvein hirsute (and laterals); intercostal regions glabrous, or intercostal regions hirsute. Rudimentary florets absent. Incomplete florets absent. Hermaphrodite florets 1 per spikelet. Rachilla not apically prolonged. Callus absent. Lemma similar in firmness to the glumes, laterally compressed, narrowly elliptic, 4.5-5.6 mm long, 1.1-1.6 mm wide, membranous, keeled (above), acute (or obliquely acute), entire; awned. Lemma margins connate (lower 1/2); ciliolate. Lemma 5 veined. Lemma veins not confluent apically, obscure, puberulous, with the hairs on the midvein, with the hairs only at the vein apex; intercostal regions glabrous or scaberulous, the hairs only at the apex. Awns 1, median. Median awn about as long as the body of the lemmas to much longer than the body of the lemmas, 6-7 mm long, 1 veined, terete, dorsal, arising from the lower half of the lemma (lower 1/4 point), straight, scabrous. Palea absent. Lodicules absent. Stamens 3. Anthers 3-3.7 mm long, yellow or purple, basally 2-lobed (1/3 the length). Ovary elliptic, glabrous. Styles 2, apical, fused.

Fruit. Fruit not seen.

Cytology. 2n = 28 (European).

Common name. Meadow Foxtail.

Distribution. Introduced. Tasmania, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia (Qld ?). World distribution: Western Eurasia, USSR, Mediterranean, and North America.

Ecology. Mesophytic. Wet areas. Flowers Nov.

Vouchers. Specimens examined morphologically: A.C.T.: ? D.A.C., Sept. 1933, D.L.Mall. Tas.: Lower Marshes, Jordan R., riverside meadowland, 9 Nov. 1964, R.Barker 127, 128 (CANB); University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, 9 Nov. 1942, W.M.Curtis (HO).

Classification. Pooideae; Poodae; Aveneae; section Alopecurus, see Clarke in Tutin ed., (1980) 5: 241.

Specimens in Australia are referable to subsp. pratensis.

References. Morphology: Hubbard (1954) 309; Morris (1991) 101; Clarke in Tutin ed., (1980) 5: 241. Cytology: Clarke in Tutin ed., (1980) 5: 241; Hubbard (1954) 309. Illustrations: alopec01.gif

Cite this publication as:
C.M. Weiller, M.J. Henwood, J. Lenz and L. Watson (1995 onwards). `Pooideae (Poaceae) in Australia - Descriptions and Illustrations'. URL http://muse.bio.cornell.edu/delta/
Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993) should also be cited.

References and Acknowledgements