Alopecurus carolinianus

Walter
Common names: Tufted foxtail
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 786.
Please click on the illustration for a higher resolution version.
Illustrator: Cindy Roché

Copyright: Utah State University

Plants annual; tufted. Culms 5-50 cm, erect or decumbent. Ligules 2.8-4.5 mm, obtuse; blades 3-15 cm long, 0.9-3 mm wide; upper sheaths not or only slightly inflated. Panicles 1-7 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, always dense. Glumes 2.1-3.1 mm, connate at the base, membranous throughout, sparsely pubescent, not dilated below, keels not winged, ciliate, apices obtuse, pale green to pale-yellow; lemmas 1.9-2.7 mm, connate in the lower 1/2, glabrous, apices obtuse, awns 3-6.5 mm, geniculate, exceeding the lemmas by 1.6-4 mm; anthers 0.3-1 mm, yellow or orange. Caryopses 1-1.5 mm. 2n = 14.

Distribution

Wash., Del., D.C., Wis., W.Va., Fla., Wyo., Tenn., N.J., N.Mex., Tex., La., Alta., B.C., Sask., N.C., S.C., Pa., N.Y., Mass., Va., Colo., Calif., Ala., Kans., N.Dak., Nebr., Okla., S.Dak., Ark., Ill., Ga., Ind., Iowa, Ariz., Idaho, Conn., Md., Ohio, Utah, Mo., Minn., Mich., Mont., Miss., Ky., Oreg.

Discussion

Alopecurus carolinianus is native to the central plains, Mississippi valley, and southeastern United States, where it is common in wet meadows, ditches, wetland edges, and other moist, open habitats; it is occasionally a weed of rice fields. At the northern limit of its range it is clearly adventive, growing in gardens and nurseries. It also occurs in arid areas of the prairies and southwest, growing sporadically along sloughs and in ditches and vernal pools. Whether such populations are native or naturalized is not clear.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Alopecurus carolinianus"
membranous +  and scarious +
orange +  and yellow +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
pale green +  and pale-yellow +
straight +
midlength +
William J. Crins +
Walter +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
straight +
basal +  and terminal +
geniculate +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.65 cm6.5 mm <br />0.0065 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
midlength +
swelling +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
not evident +
scabrous +  and glabrous +
involute +  and flat +
0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
spikelike +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (?) +
Tufted foxtail +
not branching +
solitary +  and clumped +
decumbent +  and erect +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
not woody +
Wash. +, Del. +, D.C. +, Wis. +, W.Va. +, Fla. +, Wyo. +, Tenn. +, N.J. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, La. +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Sask. +, N.C. +, S.C. +, Pa. +, N.Y. +, Mass. +, Va. +, Colo. +, Calif. +, Ala. +, Kans. +, N.Dak. +, Nebr. +, Okla. +, S.Dak. +, Ark. +, Ill. +, Ga. +, Ind. +, Iowa +, Ariz. +, Idaho +, Conn. +, Md. +, Ohio +, Utah +, Mo. +, Minn. +, Mich. +, Mont. +, Miss. +, Ky. +  and Oreg. +
1/4 +  and 1/3 +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
sterile +  and bisexual +
compressed +
reduced +
shorter or longer +
dilated +
unequal +
0.21 cm2.1 mm <br />0.0021 m <br /> (0.31 cm3.1 mm <br />0.0031 m <br />) +
membranous +
exceeding the florets +  and equaling +
narrowing +
uncinate +
capitate +  and cylindrical +
obtuse +  and acute or shortly awned +
1-7(9)-veined +
lanceolate +  and ovate +
0.19 cm1.9 mm <br />0.0019 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
membranous +
glabrous +  and puberulent +
0.28 cm2.8 mm <br />0.0028 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
lanceolate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
well-developed +
2-keeled +
reduced +
1cm +  and 7cm +
spikelike +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
not prolonged +
1 +  and 60 +
oval +  and compressed +
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Alopecurus carolinianus +
Alopecurus +
species +
membranous +
parallel +  and converging +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +