Alopecurus, or foxtail grass, is a common and widespread genus of plants in the grass family. It is common across temperate and subtropical parts of Eurasia, northern Africa, and the Americas, as well as naturalized in Australia and on various islands.
Foxtails can be annual or perennial. They grow in tufts. They have flat leaves and blunt ligules (a small flap at the junction of leaf and stem). Their inflorescence is a dense panicle (a branching head without terminal flower) with 1-flowered spikelets. A few, particularly A. myosuroides, are considered weeds, others are very decorative and are used in bouquets of dried flowers.
Species
43 species are accepted.
Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. – Orange foxtail, shortawn foxtail – Eurasia, Americas
Alopecurus albovii Tzvelev – Caucasus
Alopecurus alopecuroides (L.) L.J.Gillespie, Cabi & Soreng – Syria and Israel
Alopecurus anatolicus Dogan – eastern Turkey
Alopecurus apiatus Ovcz. – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran
Alopecurus arundinaceus – Reed foxtail, creeping foxtail, creeping meadow foxtail – Eurasia, North Africa
Alopecurus aucheri Poir. – Caucasus, Turkey, Iran
Alopecurus baptarrhenius S.M.Phillips – Ethiopia
Alopecurus bonariensis Parodi & Thell. – Argentina, Uruguay
Alopecurus borii Tzvelev – Turkmenistan
Alopecurus bornmuelleri Domin – Palestine
Alopecurus brachystachus M.Bieb. – Russia, China, Mongolia
Alopecurus × brachystylus Peterm. – western and northern Europe and Siberia
Alopecurus bulbosus Gouan – Bulbous foxtail – Mediterranean, western Europe
Alopecurus carolinianus Walter – tufted meadow foxtail – US, western Canada
Alopecurus creticus Trin. – Greece, Turkey, Balkans
Alopecurus cucullatus (L.) Raspail – central and eastern Mediterranean
Alopecurus dasyanthus Tratv. – Caucasus, Iran
Alopecurus davisii Bor – Samos Island in Greece
Alopecurus geniculatus L. – Bent foxtail, marsh meadow foxtail – Algeria, Eurasia...
