Taxon: Alopecurus geniculatus L.

Summary

Genus:

Alopecurus

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Pooideae

Tribe:

Poeae

Subtribe:

Alopecurinae

Nomen number:

2645

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 1:60. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

05/06/1992 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

4 (4 active, 4 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)
Brown, R. G. & M. L. Brown. 1984. Herbaceous plants of Maryland
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1981. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) 2:12. Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora.
Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR) Cambridge University Press.
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.
Davis, R. 1952. Flora of Idaho.
Demilly, D. et al. 1996. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 6. Note: GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
Hitchcock, C. L. et al. 1955-1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
Martin, W. C. & C. R. Hutchins. 1980. A flora of New Mexico.
McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: mentions
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155-156.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora. Note: mentions
Wherry, E. T. et al. 1979. Atlas of the flora of Pennsylvania.
2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	floating foxtail		1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	knee-joint foxtail		1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	marsh foxtail		1	Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
English	water foxtail		1	Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
English (Canada)	water 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 genouillé		2	Demilly, D. et al. 1996. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 6. Note: GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France
French (Canada)	vulpin géniculé	Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 37.
Portuguese (Brazil)	capim-cauda-de-raposa-dobrado		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Swedish	kärrkavle		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias	Tenerife	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey	Çanakkale	European part	Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Himachal Pradesh		Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Jammu and Kashmir		Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Manipur		Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Meghalaya		Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
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	Lithuania			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Astrakhan		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155-156.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Saratov		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155-156.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Volgogradskaja oblast'		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155-156.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
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. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
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. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Faroe Islands			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Iceland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
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	Italy		incl. Sicily	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
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			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	North Dakota		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	South Dakota		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Colorado		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Idaho		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Montana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Wyoming		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	New Mexico		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Arizona		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Utah		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Subarctic America	Greenland		s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Subarctic America	United States	Alaska	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Alberta	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	British Columbia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Saskatchewan	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	New Brunswick		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Nova Scotia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Prince Edward Island		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Québec	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maine		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Hampshire		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania	s.e.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Rhode Island		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Vermont		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
5	Uncertain	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
5	Uncertain	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
6	Other					possibly not native in North America, especially in e.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias (Tenerife)]

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Turkey [Çanakkale (European part)]

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India [Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya], Nepal

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, Faroe Islands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, 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, Moldova, Russian Federation [Astrakhan, Saratov, Volgogradskaja oblast'], Ukraine
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy (incl. Sicily), Romania, Serbia, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal

Northern America

SUBARCTIC AMERICA: Greenland (s.), United States [Alaska (s.)]
WESTERN CANADA: Canada [Alberta (s.), British Columbia, Saskatchewan (s.)]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [North Dakota, South Dakota]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [New Mexico]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona, California, Utah]

Adventive
Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan

Naturalized
Northern America

EASTERN CANADA: Canada [New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario (s.), Prince Edward Island, Québec (s.)]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (s.e.), Rhode Island, Vermont]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Maryland, Virginia]

Uncertain
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Morocco

Other (possibly not native in North America, especially in e.)

Reference(s)

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).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:155-156.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:242.
Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	forage		Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1981. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) 2:12. Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope

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=2645. Accessed 15 April 2026.