Taxon: Phalaris minor Retz.

Summary

Genus:

Phalaris

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Pooideae

Tribe:

Poeae

Subtribe:

Phalaridinae

Nomen number:

27523

Place of publication:

Observ. bot. 3:8. 1783

Verified:

01/25/1996 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

58 (47 active, 46 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
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.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Arianoutsou, M. et al. 2021. Alien plants of Europe: introduction, pathways, gateways and time trends. PeerJ 9:e11270. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11270. Note: listed as an alien, transmitted as a seed contaminant
Baldini, R. M. 1995. Revision of the genus Phalaris L. (Gramineae). Webbia 49:279.
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Ellis, R. P. 1997. pers. comm. Note: re. English common names
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.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Giraldo-Cañas, D. 2011. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en Colombia. Darwiniana 49:139-247.
Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hammel, B. E. et al., eds. 2003-. Manual de plantas de Costa Rica Note: comments that the only specimen known for the country might represent Phalaris aquatica
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa
Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Randall, R. P. 2007. The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
Soreng, R. J. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): IV. Subfamily Pooideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 48:485.
Tovar, Ó. 1993. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) del Perú. Ruizia 13:169.
Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-380.
Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
Villaseñor, J. L. & F. J. Espinoza-Garcia. 2004. The alien flowering plants of Mexico. Diversity & Distrib. 10:113-123.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Xu, G. et al. 2019. Designing cropping systems to improve the management of the invasive weed Phalaris minor Retz. Agron. Open Access 9:809. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy9120809.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	annual Canary grass	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	bristle-spike Canary grass	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	lesser Canary grass	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	little-seed Canary grass	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	small Canary grass	1	Ellis, R. P. 1997. pers. comm. Note: re. English common names
English	wild Canary grass	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
French	phalaris mineur	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	kleines Glanzgras	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese	talaceiro	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese (Brazil)	alfarino	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	pasto-romano	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish	alpiste valillo	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	pasto romano	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	småflen	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	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Bahrain
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Kuwait
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Saudi Arabia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Egypt	Sinai		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Jordan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Syria			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			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
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		incl. Crete	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. Sardinia, Sicily	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	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain		incl. Baleares	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Azores		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Kyushu	n.	Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan			Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Randall, R. P. 2007. The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine	Krym		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Mexico			Villaseñor, J. L. & F. J. Espinoza-Garcia. 2004. The alien flowering plants of Mexico. Diversity & Distrib. 10:113-123.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Soreng, R. J. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): IV. Subfamily Pooideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 48:485.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia			Giraldo-Cañas, D. 2011. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en Colombia. Darwiniana 49:139-247.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Tovar, Ó. 1993. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) del Perú. Ruizia 13:169.

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Egypt [Sinai], Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Azerbaijan, Georgia

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Pakistan

Europe

MIDDLE EUROPE: Germany, Netherlands
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily)
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Adventive
Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom

Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Portugal [Azores]
SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China [Yunnan Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Japan [Kyushu (n.)]

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark
MIDDLE EUROPE: Czech Republic
EASTERN EUROPE: Ukraine [Krym]

Northern America

REGION: Mexico, United States

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Southern America

WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Uruguay

Reference(s)

Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Giraldo-Cañas, D. 2011. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en Colombia. Darwiniana 49:139-247.
Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
Randall, R. P. 2007. The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status.
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
Soreng, R. J. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): IV. Subfamily Pooideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 48:485.
Tovar, Ó. 1993. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) del Perú. Ruizia 13:169.
Villaseñor, J. L. & F. J. Espinoza-Garcia. 2004. The alien flowering plants of Mexico. Diversity & Distrib. 10:113-123.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Animal food	fodder	for livestock or for birdseed	Baldini, R. M. 1995. Revision of the genus Phalaris L. (Gramineae). Webbia 49:279.
Animal food	forage		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Animal food	forage	for livestock or for birdseed	Baldini, R. M. 1995. Revision of the genus Phalaris L. (Gramineae). Webbia 49:279.
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa
Weed		in agro-ecosystems, mainly wheat in China	Xu, G. et al. 2019. Designing cropping systems to improve the management of the invasive weed Phalaris minor Retz. Agron. Open Access 9:809. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy9120809.
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

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=27523. Accessed 15 April 2026.