Polypogon monspeliensis
Polypogon australis
annual beard grass, annual rabbit's-foot grass, rabbit'sfootgrass, rabbitfoot beardgrass, rabbitfoot grass, rabbitfoot polypogon
Chilean beard grass, Chilean rabbit's-foot grass
5-65 (100) cm, erect to geniculately ascending.
20-100 cm.
glabrous, the uppermost sheaths sometimes inflated;
ligules 2.5-16 mm;
blades 1-20 cm long, 1-7 mm wide.
smooth to scabridulous;
ligules 1-3(4) mm, rounded to broadly acute, erose;
blades 13-17 cm long, 5-7 mm wide, scabrous.
1-17 cm, narrowly ellipsoid, dense, sometimes lobed, greenish;
pedicels absent or to 0.2 mm;
stipes 0.1-0.2 mm.
8-15 cm, lobed or interrupted, usually purplish;
pedicels absent or vestigial;
stipes 0.3-0.5 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.
1.5-3 mm, smooth to echinate, margins ciliate, apices acute to truncate, unlobed or lobed, lobes to 0.1 mm, awned, awns (3)4-6 mm, flexuous;
lemmas 1-1.3 mm, awned, awns 2-3.5 mm, flexuous;
paleas from shorter than to subequal to the lemmas;
anthers 0.3-0.5 mm.
= 14, 28, 35, 42.
= unknown.
Polypogon monspeliensis
Polypogon australis
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.)
Polypogon australis is native to South America. It has become established in western North America, where it grows alongside ditches and streams. The records from Washington and Oregon are from ballast dumps; it is not known from recent collections in those states.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- 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
- Local floras: 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
