Vulpia myuros var. myuros (Festuca m. L.)   =Festuca myuros   Poaceae (Grass Family)   Europe   Ratstail Fescue

                                January Photo

Plant Characteristics:  Annual, culms 2-6 dm. high; sheaths and blades smooth; panicle narrow, somewhat one sided, 8 to 20 cm. long; spikelets 4 or 5 fld.; glumes glabrous, the first about half the length of the second; lemmas scabrous above, not ciliate, attenuate into an awn about twice its length.

Name:  Ancient Latin name for some grass.

Habitat:  Occasional on cultivated or open ground, sandy soil and waste places; B.C. to L. Calif.  March-May.

Name: Vulpia is named for J.S. Vulpis, pharmacist-botanist of Baden, Germany.  (Hickman, Ed. 1302).   Festuca, ancient Latin name for some grass.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 971).  Greek, myos, mouse and oura, a tail.  (Jaeger, 160,276).  Myuros, mouse tail.  Possibly refers to the small diameter of the culms.  

General:  Occasional in the study area. Common on the Northstar flats and photographed there. (my comments).       Was collected as early as l838-42 by John Torrey at San Francisco.  (Robbins et al. 80).      Has been known to cause hay fever and asthma.  (Fuller 383).       Hitchcock divides the genus Festuca into Vulpia, the annual plants and Eufestuca, the perennial plants.  (Hitchcock 58).      Worldwide, probably native to Europe.  (Hickman, Ed. 1302).

Text Ref:  Hickman, Ed. 1302; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 972; Roberts 48.

Photo Ref:  Feb 83 # 12; Jan 2 84 # 11; Mar-April 84 # 2.

Identity: by R. De Ruff, confirmed by F. Roberts.

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 46.

Have plant specimen.

Last edit 5/3/03.

                                          March Photo