Fringed Fescue -introduced (*Vulpia ciliata)

Native to Europe. Annual. C3.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

An uncommon weed.

Identification:

• it is a slender grass
• the flowers form a narrow, contracted cluster
• the 1st glume very small 0.2-1mm long, and the 2nd glume 1.5-4mm
• the spikelets are 4-10 flowered, much exceeding the glumes
• the lemmas taper into a long (over 1cm) awn and are hairy with hairs from 0.5-2mm long
• the leaves are flat or rolled
• the ligule is membranous, and 0.0-0.6mm long.

The tiny first glume and the hairy lemmas (with hairs along the length of the lemma) are distinctive.

It is an environmental weed.

Vulpia: in honour of J.S. Vulpias, 1760-1840, a German Chemist; ciliata: fringed.

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