Burke: Cynosurus echinatus vs. Cynosurus cristatus

	Cynosurus echinatus	Cynosurus cristatus
	bristly dog's-tail grass	crested dogtail
Habit	Glabrous annual, the culms 2-5 dm. tall.	Tufted perennial, the erect culms 4-8 dm. tall.
Leaves	Sheaths open, inflated; ligules 2-7 mm. long, obtuse; blades flat, 2-5 mm. broad, the margins freed from the sheath at different levels.	Sheaths open, the upper glabrous, the lower puberulent; ligules about 1 mm. long, truncate, glabrous; blades flat to folded, 1.5-2.5 mm. broad.
Flowers	Inflorescence a bristly, dense, ovoid panicle 1-4 cm. long; spikelets in pairs on very short branches, one spikelet fertile and sessile, the other short-pedicellate and sterile; sterile spikelet with several lemmas similar to the keeled, long-pointed glumes; fertile spikelet 2-flowered, the upper flower sometimes rudimentary; glumes strongly keeled and flattened, 5-6 mm. long, with awn tips 1-2.5 mm. long; lemmas somewhat lopsided, about 5 mm. long, rounded, with an awn 3-10 mm. long.	Inflorescence a one-sided, spike-like panicle 3-8 cm. long and less than 1 cm. thick; spikelets in pairs on very short branches, one spikelet fertile and sessile, the other short-pedicellate and sterile; sterile spikelet flattened and fan-like, 4-5 mm. long, consisting of glumes and 7-9 empty lemmas; fertile spikelet has glumes 2.5-3.5 mm. long, keeled and scabrous, with serrulate margins; lemmas somewhat lopsided, rounded, about 4 mm. long, scabrous, with an awn tip about 0.5 mm. long.

	Cynosurus echinatus	Cynosurus cristatus
Flowering time	May-July	June-July
Habitat	Disturbed open areas, including roadsides, grasslands, and wastelots.	Waste places, old meadows, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, also in Idaho, Montana, and Colorado. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Eurasia	Introduced from Europe
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	C. cristatus	C. echinatus
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Cynosurus cristatus

bristly dog's-tail grass

crested dogtail

Habit

Glabrous annual, the culms 2-5 dm. tall.

Tufted perennial, the erect culms 4-8 dm. tall.

Leaves

Sheaths open, inflated;

ligules 2-7 mm. long, obtuse;

blades flat, 2-5 mm. broad, the margins freed from the sheath at different levels.

Sheaths open, the upper glabrous, the lower puberulent;

ligules about 1 mm. long, truncate, glabrous;

blades flat to folded, 1.5-2.5 mm. broad.

Flowers

Inflorescence a bristly, dense, ovoid panicle 1-4 cm. long;

spikelets in pairs on very short branches, one spikelet fertile and sessile, the other short-pedicellate and sterile; sterile spikelet with several lemmas similar to the keeled, long-pointed glumes; fertile spikelet 2-flowered, the upper flower sometimes rudimentary;

glumes strongly keeled and flattened, 5-6 mm. long, with awn tips 1-2.5 mm. long;

lemmas somewhat lopsided, about 5 mm. long, rounded, with an awn 3-10 mm. long.

Inflorescence a one-sided, spike-like panicle 3-8 cm. long and less than 1 cm. thick;

spikelets in pairs on very short branches, one spikelet fertile and sessile, the other short-pedicellate and sterile; sterile spikelet flattened and fan-like, 4-5 mm. long, consisting of glumes and 7-9 empty lemmas; fertile spikelet has glumes 2.5-3.5 mm. long, keeled and scabrous, with serrulate margins;

lemmas somewhat lopsided, rounded, about 4 mm. long, scabrous, with an awn tip about 0.5 mm. long.