Polypogon interruptus
Polypogon monspeliensis
ditch beard grass, ditch rabbit's-foot grass
annual beard grass, annual rabbit's-foot grass, rabbitfoot beardgrass, rabbitfoot grass, rabbitfoot polypogon, rabbitsfoot grass
20-80 (90) cm, more or less decumbent.
5-65 (100) cm, erect to geniculately ascending.
smooth;
ligules 2-6 mm, scabridulous-pubescent;
blades 5-9 cm long, 3-6 mm wide.
glabrous, the uppermost sheaths sometimes inflated;
ligules 2.5-16 mm;
blades 1-20 cm long, 1-7 mm wide.
3-15 cm long, 0.5-3 cm wide, usually interrupted or lobed;
pedicels not developed;
stipes 0.2-0.7 mm.
1-17 cm, narrowly ellipsoid, dense, sometimes lobed, greenish;
pedicels absent or to 0.2 mm;
stipes 0.1-0.2 mm.
2-3 mm, subequal, scabrous, larger prickles extending up the keel beyond midlength, not tapering to the apices, apices acute to truncate, unlobed or the lobes to 0.1 mm, awned, awns 1.5-3.2 mm, those of the lower and upper glumes subequal;
lemmas 0.8-1.5 mm, glabrous, smooth and shiny, apices obtuse, not emarginate, awned, awns 1-3.2 mm;
paleas about 3/4 as long as the lemmas;
anthers 0.5-0.7 mm.
1-2.7 mm, hispidulous throughout, largest prickles restricted to the lower 1/2, apices rounded, lobed, lobes 0.1-0.2 mm, 1/10 or less the length of the glume body, awned from the sinus, awns 4-10 mm, yellowish;
lemmas 0.5-1.5 mm, glabrous, awned, awns 0.5-1(4.5) mm;
paleas subequal to the lemmas;
anthers 0.2-1 mm.
= 28, 42.
= 14, 28, 35, 42.
Polypogon interruptus
Polypogon monspeliensis
Polypogon interruptus grows in moist soil at lower elevations. It is native to the Western Hemisphere, extending south from the western United States into northern Mexico, and through the American tropics to Argentina and Bolivia. The more eastern records may indicate introductions; it is not known whether or not the species persists at these locations.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Polypogon monspeliensis is native to southern Europe and Turkey. It is now a common weed throughout the world, including much of the Flora region. It grows in damp to wet, often alkaline soils, particularly in disturbed areas. Vernon Harms (pers. comm., 2005) commented that the species' distribution in Saskatchewan appears to have increased greatly since the 1970s. The English-language name aptly describes the feel of the young panicles.
In Europe, Polypogon monspeliensis hybridizes with Agrostis stolonifera, producing the sterile xAgropogon lutosus (p. 668); and with P. viridis, forming P. xadscendens Guss. ex Bertol. Only xAgropogon lutosus has been reported from the Flora region. It differs from P. monspeliensis in having more persistent spikelets, less blunt short-awned glumes, and lemmas with sub-terminal rather than terminal awns.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
LA Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
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- Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW,
Go Botany, 
KS Wildflowers, LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, PNW Herbaria - WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
