Vulpia myuros
Vulpia octoflora
annual fescue, foxtail fescue, rat-tail fescue, rat-tail six-weeks grass, rattail vulpia
eight-flower six-weeks grass, pullout grass, six-weeks fescue, six-weeks grass, six-weeks vulpia
10-75(90) cm, solitary or loosely tufted, branched or unbranched distally.
5-60 cm, solitary or loosely tufted, glabrous or pubescent.
usually glabrous;
ligules 0.3-0.5 mm;
blades 2.4-10.5(17) cm long, 0.4-3 mm wide, usually rolled, occasionally flat, usually glabrous.
glabrous or pubescent;
ligules 0.3-1 mm;
blades to 10 cm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, flat or rolled, glabrous or pubescent.
1-7(20) cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, with 1-2 branches per node;
branches appressed to spreading.
3-25 cm long, 0.5-1.5(2) cm wide, dense panicles or spikelike racemes, with 1 branch per node, often partially enclosed in the uppermost sheaths at maturity, pulvini absent;
branches spreading or appressed to erect.
5-12 mm, with 3-7 florets;
rachilla internodes 0.75-1(1.9) mm.
4-10(13) mm, with (4)5-11(17) florets;
rachilla internodes 0.5-0.7 mm.
glabrous;
lower glumes 0.5-2 mm, 1/5- 1/2 the length of the upper glumes;
upper glumes 2.5-5.5 mm;
lemmas 4.5-7 mm, 5-veined, usually scabrous distally, glabrous except the margins sometimes ciliate, apices entire, awns 5-15(22) mm;
paleas 4.7-6.4 mm, minutely bifid;
anthers 0.5-1(2) mm.
1.7-4.5 mm, 1/2 - 2/3 the length of the upper glumes;
upper glumes 2.5-7.2 mm;
lemmas 2.7-6.5 mm, 5-veined, smooth, scabrous, or pubescent, apices entire, no more pubescent than the bases, awns of the lowermost lemma in each spikelet 0.3-9 mm;
paleas slightly shorter than the lemmas, apices entire or minutely bifid, teeth shorter than 0.2 mm;
anthers 0.3-1.5 mm.
3-5 mm, fusiform, glabrous.
1.7-3.7 mm.
= 14 [f. myuros], 42 [f. myuros and f. megalura].
= 14.
Vulpia myuros
Vulpia octoflora
Vulpia myuros grows in well-drained, sandy soils and disturbed sites. It is native to Europe and North Africa. Vulpia myuros f. megalura (Nutt.) Stace & R. Cotton differs from Vulpia myuros (L.) C.C. Gmel. f. myuros in having ciliate lemma margins. It was once thought to be native to North America, but it occurs throughout the European and North African range of f. myuros, even in undisturbed areas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Vulpia octoflora, a widespread native species, tends to be displaced by the introduced Bromus tectorum in the Pacific Northwest. It grows in grasslands, sagebrush, and open woodlands, as well as in disturbed habitats and areas of secondary succession, such as old fields, roadsides, and ditches. Three varieties are recognized here, but their characterization is not completely satisfactory, e.g., plants of the southwestern United States with spikelets in the size range of var. glauca often have densely pubescent lemmas, the distinguishing characteristic of var. birtella.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Spikelets usually 4-6.5 mm long; awn of the lowermost lemma in each spikelet 0.3-3 mm long | var. glauca |
1. Spikelets usually 5.5-13 mm long; awn of the lowermost lemma in each spikelet 2.5-9 mm long. | → 2 |
2. Lemmas scabrous to pubescent | var. hirtella |
2. Lemmas usually smooth, sometimes scabridulous distally and on the margins | var. octoflora |
- Local floras:
BC, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
CalFlora, CalPhotos, 
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MO Plants, 
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, Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, LA Plants, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora,
MN Wildflowers, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria - WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
