Alopecurus magellanicus
Alopecurus pratensis
alpine foxtail, alpine meadow-foxtail, boreal foxtail, foxtail, vulpin alpin, vulpin boreale
field meadow-foxtail, meadow meadow-foxtail, meadow-foxtail, vulpin des pres
(6)10-80 cm, erect or decumbent.
30-110 cm, erect.
1-5 cm long, 8-14 mm wide.
3.5-9 cm long, 6-10 mm wide.
3-5 mm, connate in the lower 1/8, membranous, densely pilose throughout, keels not winged, ciliate, apices acute and parallel;
lemmas 2.5-4.5 mm, connate in the lower 1/2 - 2/3, glabrous proximally, finely pubescent distally, apices usually obtuse, occasionally truncate, awns 2-6(8) mm, geniculate, exceeding the lemmas by 0-5 mm;
anthers 2.3-3 mm, yellow.
4-6 mm, connate in the lower 1/5-1/4, membranous, sides pubescent, keels not winged, finely ciliate, apices acute, parallel or convergent;
lemmas 4-6 mm, connate in the lower 1/3, usually glabrous, keels sometimes ciliate distally, apices acute, awns 5-10.5 mm, geniculate, exceeding the lemmas by (1)2.2-5.5 mm;
anthers 2-4 mm, yellowish, orange, reddish, or purplish, sometimes varying within a population.
0.7-2 mm.
1-1.2 mm.
1-2 mm, truncate;
blades 4-22 cm long, 2.5-7 mm wide;
upper sheaths inflated.
1.5-3 mm, obtuse to truncate;
blades 6-40 cm long, 1.9-8 mm wide;
upper sheaths not or scarcely inflated.
= 98, 100, 105, 112, 117, 119, ca. 120.
= 28, 42.
Alopecurus magellanicus
Alopecurus pratensis
Alopecurus magellanicus has an arctic-alpine to subalpine circumpolar distribution, but it has not been found in Scandinavia or Iceland. It grows primarily in wet soils in tundra, meadows, along streams, shorelines, gravelbars, and floodplains, and occasionally in somewhat drier forest openings, in fine or silty to stony soils or moss. It is sometimes co-dominant with Dupontia fisheri in the arctic and subarctic portion of its range. The anthocyanic tint of the plant as a whole greatly increases to the north.
In the past, this species has been called Alopecurus alpinus, the name being attributed to Smith. Dogan (1999) pointed out that the name had first been used by Villars for a different species, which meant that this species had to have another name; Dogan used A. borealis Trin., listing A. magellanicus as a synonym but, because A. magellanicus was published first, it has priority and is therefore the correct name.
The morphological variability in Alopecurus magellanicus has prompted recognition of several segregate taxa, A. stejnegeri Vasey and A. occidentalis Scribn. & Tweedy being two of the more conspicuous extremes. The former are small plants occurring on enriched sites in the arctic, usually around seabird or seal colonies where high nutrient levels produce lush vegetative growth; the latter refers to tall-stemmed plants found in the Rocky Mountains. Because such plants are simply extremes in a continuum of variation, they do not merit taxonomic recognition.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Alopecurus pratensis is native from temperate northern Eurasia south to North Africa. It is now widely naturalized in temperate regions throughout the world. It grows in poorly to somewhat drained soils in meadows, riverbanks, lakesides, ditches, roadsides, and fence rows. It has been widely introduced as a pasture grass; it may also have become established from ballast or imported hay. The earliest collections are from coastal New England; it is now established throughout much of the Flora region.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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