Species Detail Grasses

Herbarium specimen - Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium, Usage Rights: Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC)		Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants Vulpia myuros - annual fescue Synonyms: Festuca megalura, Festuca megalura var. hirsuta, Festuca myuros, Festuca myuros var. hirsuta, Vulpia megalura, Vulpia myuros var. hirsuta Other Common Names: foxtail fescue, rat-tailed fescue, silvergrass, sixweeks fescue Plant Form: Grass Family: Poaceae


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Seedheads Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)


	Grass Description - Glossary of Grass Terminology Origin: Introduced Season: Cool and Warm Habitat Description: Grows in well-drained sandy soils and dry disturbed areas. Plant Communities:Disturbed Areas Elevation: Below 6500 feet General Description Desc: Single stemmed or loosely tufted annual, with smooth stems 4 to 30 inches tall. Basal stems may lie on the ground with the tips ascending, and bending sharply at the lower nodes. Identification Notes: Annual; blades tightly rolled; ligules ragged, somewhat hairy; spikelets solitary, arranged in rows on one side of the seedhead axis; lower glumes less than 1/2 the length of upper; lemma distinctly hairy, awned; lemmas 5-veined, margins sometimes hairy. Grass Type: Annual Rhizomes: N Stolons: N Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N Bushy (highly branched): N Height with Seedheads: 24 to 36 inches Seedhead Structure: Branched - open and spreading Seedhead Droops: Y Flowering Period: Apr - Jul Flower Characteristics Number of Flowers per Spikelet: Multi-flowered Spikelets One-sided: Y Awns: 1/4 inch to 1 inch Three Awns: N Awns Bent: N Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedhead is about 9 inches long with 1 to 3 branches per node; branches are spreading or appressed to erect. Lower branches are often enclosed in upper sheaths. Spikelets have 3 to 7 bisexual florets. Seedhead turns silver in summer and droops. Vegetative Charcteristics Blade Hairy: Y Blade with White Margins: N Blade Cross section: Flat or involute Blade Notes: Leaf blades are up to 4 inches long and less than 1/10 inch wide. Leaf blades are flat or margins may be rolled inward. Leaf blades are smooth on the bottom and rough or hairy on the top and light green in color. Sheath Hairy: N Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar: N Ligules: Membranous and hairy Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area: N Forage Value: This grass has little forage value because it is short lived and declines when it is closely grazed.


	Arizona Cooperative Extension Yavapai County 840 Rodeo Dr #C Prescott, AZ 86305 (928) 445-6590	Version 8.0 http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailGrass.php Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022 Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson Legal Disclaimer