Phleum pratense L.
common timothy (timothy)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
common timothy (timothy)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Phleum pratense ssp. pratense
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems usually enlarged and more or less bulbous at the base, up to 100 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths smooth; blades flat, 4-8 mm wide, the margins rough; ligules blunt, subentire, sometimes the margins irregular-jagged, 2-3 (4) mm long; small ear-shaped lobes at the leaf-bases occasionally present, borne where the blades are freed from the sheaths.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a slender-cylindrical panicle, 4-11 (16) cm long, less than 1 cm wide when pressed; glumes usually short-hairy on the sides, strongly fringed with comblike hairs on the keels, 3-4 mm long, abruptly narrowed to the stout, slightly curved awns, the awns 1-1.5 (rarely 2) mm long; lemmas hairy, blunt and jagged, the midnerves slightly extending beyond the tips and bristlelike, scarcely 2 mm long; paleas nearly equal to the lemmas; anthers 1.6-2.3 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:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
According to the USDA, this species is a known allelopath.
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Phleum pratense
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) |
1116 | 30 | 2350 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
18 | 0 | 230 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
202 | 0 | 355 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
537 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(7), BG(13), BWBS(13), CWH(14), ESSF(72), ICH(43), IDF(105), MH(1), MS(86), PP(10), SBPS(6), SBS(86), SWB(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic fields, roadsides, waste areas and disturbed sites; common in S BC, less frequent northward; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Phleum nodosum L.
Phleum pratense subsp. nodosum (L.) Arcang.
Phleum pratense var. nodosum (L.) Huds.