Taxon: Alopecurus pratensis L.

Summary

Genus:

Alopecurus

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Pooideae

Tribe:

Poeae

Subtribe:

Alopecurinae

Nomen number:

2651

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 1:60. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

05/06/1992 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

121 (75 active, 71 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

No images

Links

Spikelets and/or florets – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 37.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Office of the Union. 2009. UPOV: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. List of the taxa protected by the members of the Union
Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155.
Soreng, R. J. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): IV. Subfamily Pooideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 48:105.
Still, S. M. 1994. Manual of herbaceous ornamental plants, ed. 4
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.
Welsh, S. L. et al. 1993. A Utah flora.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Note: forage crop

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	golden foxtail grass			1	Still, S. M. 1994. Manual of herbaceous ornamental plants, ed. 4
English	meadow foxtail			1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	perennial foxtail			1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	yellow foxtail grass			1	Still, S. M. 1994. Manual of herbaceous ornamental plants, ed. 4
Chinese	da kan mai niang	大看麦娘		2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
English (Canada)	meadow foxtail		Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 37.
French	vulpin des prés			2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French (Canada)	vulpin des prés		Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 37.
German	Wiesenfuchsschwanz			2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Italian	coda di volpe			2	International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Japanese Rōmaji	ō-suzume-no-teppō			2	Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Portuguese	rabo-de-raposa			2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	alopecuro			2	Office of the Union. 2009. UPOV: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. List of the taxa protected by the members of the Union
Spanish	cola de zorra			2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	rabo de zorra			2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	vulpino			2	Office of the Union. 2009. UPOV: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. List of the taxa protected by the members of the Union
Swedish	ängskavle			2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transliterated Russian	lisohvost lugovoj			2	Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China		n.e. & n.w.	Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kyrgyzstan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Tajikistan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Uzbekistan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Mongolia	Mongolia			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation-Far East	Far East	s.	Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia	w.	Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan		e.	Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran		n.	Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey		n.w.	Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Astrakhan		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Kalmykija, Respublika		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Saratov		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Volgogradskaja oblast'		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Slovakia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Serbia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
2	Cultivated	Europe		Europe			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Europe	Northern Europe	Iceland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Northern America		Canada		s.	Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Northern America		United States			Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.

Native
Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan (e.), Iran (n.), Turkey (n.w.)
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Georgia
SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia (w.)]
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
MONGOLIA: Mongolia
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East (s.)]
CHINA: China (n.e. & n.w.)

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Russian Federation [Astrakhan, Kalmykija, Respublika, Saratov, Volgogradskaja oblast'], Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Romania, Serbia, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France (incl. Corsica)

Cultivated
Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Iceland
REGION: Europe

Northern America

REGION: Canada (s.), United States

Naturalized
Southern America

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile

Reference(s)

Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:241. Note: with two subspecies
Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder		Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Animal food	forage		Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Environmental	erosion control		Welsh, S. L. et al. 1993. A Utah flora.
Environmental	revegetator		Welsh, S. L. et al. 1993. A Utah flora.
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=2651. Accessed 15 April 2026.