Dactylis glomerata is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as barnyard grass, cocksfoot grass, cockspur, orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its popularity for use with domestic cats). It is a cool-season perennial C3 tufted grass native throughout most of Europe, temperate Asia, and northern Africa.
Distribution
Dactylis glomerata occurs from sea level in the north of its range, to as high as 4,000 metres in elevation in the south of its range in Pakistan. It is widely used for hay and forage.
It is a principal species in the widespread National Vegetation Classification habitat community MG1 (Arrhenatherum elatius grassland) in the United Kingdom, and so can be found with Arrhenatherum elatius (false oat grass).
Dactylis glomerata subsp. hispanica, Sierra Madrona, Spain
It can be found in meadows, pasture, roadsides, and rough grassland.
It has been introduced into North America, New Zealand and Australia, and is now widely naturalised. In some areas, it has become an invasive species.
One of the keys to distinguishing this species from other grasses are its flat stems
Description
Cock's-foot grows in dense perennial tussocks to 20–140 centimetres (7.9–55.1 in; 0.66–4.59 ft) tall, with grey-green leaves 20–50 centimetres (7.9–19.7 in; 0.66–1.64 ft) long and up to 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) broad, and a distinctive tufted triangular flowerhead 10–50 centimetres (3.9–19.7 in; 0.33–1.64 ft) long, which may be either green or red- to purple-tinged (usually green in shade, redder in full sun), turning pale grey-brown at seed maturity. The spikelets are 5–9 millimetres (0.20–0.35 in) long, typically containing two to five flowers. It has a characteristic flattened stem base which distinguishes it from many other grasses.
It flowers from June to September.
Flower head
Taxonomy
Dactylis glomerata is treated as the sole species in the genus Dactylis by some authors,...
