Vulpia octoflora
Vulpia ciliata
eight-flower six-weeks grass, pullout grass, six-weeks fescue, six-weeks grass, six-weeks vulpia
fringe fescue
5-60 cm, solitary or loosely tufted, glabrous or pubescent.
6-45 cm, loosely tufted.
glabrous or pubescent;
ligules 0.3-1 mm;
blades to 10 cm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, flat or rolled, glabrous or pubescent.
smooth, glabrous;
ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;
blades 3.5-10 cm long, about 0.4 mm wide, folded to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces puberulent.
1-7(20) cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, with 1-2 branches per node;
branches appressed to spreading.
3-20 cm long, 0.3-1.5 cm wide, panicles or spicate racemes, usually partially enclosed in the uppermost sheaths at maturity, with 1 branch per node, axillary pulvini absent.
4-10(13) mm, with (4)5-11(17) florets;
rachilla internodes 0.5-0.7 mm.
5-10.5 mm, with 4-10 florets;
rachilla internodes 0.4-0.9 mm.
glabrous;
lower glumes 0.1-1.3 mm, less than 1/3 the length of the upper glumes;
upper glumes 1.5-4 mm;
lemmas 4-7.7 mm, 3(5)-veined, usually pubescent on the midvein, sometimes also on the body, rarely glabrous on both, margins ciliate, hairs to 1 mm, awns 6-15.3 mm;
paleas slightly shorter than to equaling the lemmas, apices entire;
anthers 0.4-0.6(1.6) 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.
1.7-3.7 mm.
3.4-6.5 mm.
= 14.
= 42.
Vulpia octoflora
Vulpia ciliata
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.)
Vulpia ciliata is native to Europe, the Mediterranean area, and southwest and central Asia. It grows in open, dry habitats. It is easily distinguished from other members of the genus because of its upper glumes with broadly membranous tips that break off, making the glumes appear truncate or blunt. In the Flora region, it was known until recently only from an old ballast, dump record from Philadelphia. In May 2004, it was collected immediately north of the Odgen Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Weber County, Utah, in an upland area of the site. The source of the seeds is not known.
(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, 
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
