PlantNET Home DONATE TODAY | PlantNET Home | Search NSW Flora | Contact Us  
FloraOnline
Introduction
Plant Name Search
Index Search
Spatial Search
Identification Keys
Classification
Glossary
WeedAlert
Telopea Journal
Other Data Sources
NEW SOUTH WALES FLORA ONLINE Printable Page

Alopecurus aequalis Sobol.
Family Poaceae
Common name: Short-awned Foxtail, Short Awn Foxtail, Orange Foxtail, Vulpin Fauve (France), Suzumeno-teppo (Japan)

Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. APNI*

Description: Perennial or annual, caespitose to spreading. Culms erect or geniculately ascending or decumbent, 10–60 cm long, without nodal roots or rarely rooting from lower nodes.

Leaves: ligule acute; blade 2–15 cm long, (0.5-) 1–3 (-5) mm wide.

Panicles mostly 2–6 cm long, 3–6 mm wide. Spikelets (1.5) 2.5–3.5 mm long. Glumes ±equalling or slightly shorter than lemma, 1.5–3.5 mm long, narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, obtuse, connate only at base, membranous, lacking keel-wing, with nerves prominent, ±villous-ciliate along keel and often with similar hairs scattered on sides (margins and outer nerves). Lemma elliptic, with margins fused for 1/3–1/2 their length, 2–3.5 mm long, emarginate, similar in firmness to glumes, 5-nerved, glabrous; awn (0.5-) 1–2 (-4?) mm long, attached just below or c. midway (or possibly towards and near apex), ±straight, scarely exceeding (to c. 1 mm) the glumes or when subapical may be exserted to 1.5 mm or more. Anthers 0.6–1.5 mm long.


Herbarium
Sheet

Flowering: September to March.

Distribution and occurrence: Native of Europe, Asia and North America. The presence and distribution of A. aequalis in N.S.W. requires further investigation. There are specimens from the Cooleman Plain in Kosciuszko National Park with awns to 2 mm long attached just below the middle of the lemma at c. 2/5 of the lemma length from the base (similar to what occurs in A. aequalis specimens from overseas). There is another group of specimens, often confused with A. geniculatus, which also have inconspicuous lemma awns and these specimens are from the Yanco-Berrigan-Hay-Barham area of the South Western Plains and probably extend west to Wentworth in the South Far Western Plains. In these specimens the straight to slightly recurved or outswept awns are to 1.5 (-2) mm long and attached in the upper half of the lemma near the apex (to c. 0.5 mm or sometimes to 0.7 mm below), and the folded glumes are characteristically slightly sigmoid in shape. This group of specimens possibly represents another taxon, but the specimens have not been able to be matched with any other species of Alopecurus. Alternatively, they may simply reflect variation in A. aequalis where the lemma awn can be inserted from c. midway to subapical. This variation also occurs in Vic., where specimens with awns inserted higher on the lemma (as in most south-western N.S.W. specimens) mainly come from the north-west of the State, fide N.G. Walsh (pers. comm.). There is also the possibility for hybrids between A. aequalis and A. geniculaltus (= A. xhaussknechtianus Asch. & Graebn.).

Grows in wet places such as swampy areas, creeks and irrigation channels; often aquatic with partly submerged stems.
NSW subdivisions: *ST, *SWP, ?SFWP
Other Australian states: *Vic. *S.A.
AVH map***

In Alopecurus aequalis the lemma awn is only slightly exserted beyond the lemma and glumes, and is therefore less conspicuous than in the other three taxa occurring in Australia. It is similar to, and has been confused with, the more common Alopecurus geniculatus, but distinguished from it by having glumes about equal or slightly shorter than the lemma, lemma margins connate for at least 1/3 of their length and the lemma awn usually 2 mm long or less, not conspicuously protruding beyond glumes and more or less straight. See also Kodela, Cunninghamia 15: 143-151 (2015).

Text by P.G. Kodela (Jan 2010; updated Mar 2015)
Taxon concept: P.G. Kodela et al., Alopecurus. Flora of Australia, Vol. 44A, Poaceae 2: 253-256 (2009).


APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
  Privacy | Copyright | Disclaimer | About PlantNET | Cite PlantNET