Alopecurus carolinianus Walter
Carolina meadow-foxtail (Carolina foxtail)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Carolina meadow-foxtail (Carolina foxtail)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual (or winter annual) tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems 10-30 (40) cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths open; blades more or less rough at least on the upper surfaces, 2-4 mm wide; ligules jagged, long-pointed, (2) 3-4 (5) mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a pale green cylindrical panicle, mostly 2-6 cm long; spikelets less than 4 mm long (excluding the awns); glumes (2) 2.3 (2.6) mm long, fringed with fine, stiff hairs on the keels, long-hairy on the lateral nerves, tips rounded; lemmas with margins fused to their midlength, equal to or slightly longer than the glumes, awned, the awns inserted 0.5 mm above the base, usually abruptly bent, slender, longer than the glumes (extending 2.5 mm or more beyond them), about 2-3 mm long; anthers 0.3-0.4 (0.5) mm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Yellow
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Alopecurus carolinianus
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1150 | 1150 | 1150 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
20 | 20 | 20 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
57 | 58 | 58 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 4 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to moist vernal pools, roadsides and meadows in the lowland zone; rare on S Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and SC BC; E to S SK and S to ME, MA, PA, NC, FL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, MX and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Alopecurus macounii Vasey
Alopecurus ramosus Poir.