Polypogon monspeliensis
Polypogon viridis
annual beard grass, annual rabbit's-foot grass, rabbit'sfootgrass, rabbitfoot beardgrass, rabbitfoot grass, rabbitfoot polypogon
beardless rabbit's-foot grass, water beard grass, water bentgrass
5-65 (100) cm, erect to geniculately ascending.
10-90 cm, sometimes decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.
glabrous, the uppermost sheaths sometimes inflated;
ligules 2.5-16 mm;
blades 1-20 cm long, 1-7 mm wide.
glabrous, smooth;
ligules to 5 mm;
blades 2-13 cm long, 1-6 mm wide.
1-17 cm, narrowly ellipsoid, dense, sometimes lobed, greenish;
pedicels absent or to 0.2 mm;
stipes 0.1-0.2 mm.
2-10 cm, ovate-oblong to pyramidal, dense but interrupted, pale green to purplish;
pedicels not developed;
stipes 0.1-0.6 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.
1.5-2 mm, scabrous on the back and keel, apices obtuse or truncate, unawned;
lemmas about 1 mm, erose, unawned;
paleas subequal to the lemmas;
anthers 0.3-0.5 mm.
= 14, 28, 35, 42.
= 28, 42.
Polypogon monspeliensis
Polypogon viridis
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 viridis grows in mesic habitats associated with rivers, streams, and irrigation ditches. It is native from southern Europe to Pakistan, but is now established in the Flora region, particularly the southwestern United States. Records from the Atlantic coast are based on plants found on ballast dumps; there have been no recent collections from these locations.
In Europe, Polypogon viridis hybridizes with P. monspeliensis, forming P. xadscendens Guss. ex Bertol.; no such hybrids have been reported from the Flora region.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
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OR, 
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Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
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WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
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- Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, Go Botany, PNW Herbaria
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
