Dactylis glomerata
Encyclopedia
Dactylis glomerata, Cock's-foot and orchard grass, is a common species of grass
in the genus Dactylis
, native throughout most of Europe
, temperate Asia
, and northern Africa
.
and as a forage
grass.
It is a principle species in the UK National Vegetation Classification
habitat community the very widespread MG1 (Arrhenatherum elatius grassland)
, and thus can be found where Arrhenatherum elatius
, (also known as False Oat grass), occurs..
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
. Other names include cocksfoot, cocksfoot grass, and (in cultivation in the USA) orchard grass.
20–50 cm long and up to 1.5 cm broad, and a distinctive tufted triangular flower
head 10–15 cm 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 mm 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.
by some authors, while other authorities accept an additional one to four species in the genus. It is commonly divided into several regional subspecies
, particularly by those authors accepting only the single species:
Dactylis glomerata subsp. glomerata and subsp. hispanica are tetraploid
forms with 28 chromosomes; some of the other subspecies, including subsp. himalayensis and subsp. lobata are diploid, with 2n = 14. Hexaploid forms with 42 chromosomes are also known, but rare. Tetraploid forms are larger and coarser than diploid forms.
In some areas to which it has been introduced, Cock's-foot has become an invasive
weed, notably some areas of the eastern United States.
As with other grasses, the pollen
can cause allergic rhinitis
(hay fever) in some people.
Cock's-foot is sold in small containers at a height to about 10-15 cm labelled as "cat grass" for indoor cat
s to eat.
s feed on Cocksfoot include:
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
in the genus Dactylis
Dactylis
Dactylis is a genus of grasses in the subfamily Pooideae, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. They are known in English as cock's-foot or cocksfoot grasses, also sometimes as orchard grasses.-Taxonomy:...
, native throughout most of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, temperate Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and northern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Distribution
Dactylis glomerata occurs from sea level in the north of its range, to as high as 4,000 m altitude in the south of its range in Pakistan. It is widely used for hayHay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
and as a forage
Fodder
Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
grass.
It is a principle species in the UK National Vegetation Classification
National Vegetation Classification
National Vegetation Classification could refer to:* the British National Vegetation Classification * the United States National Vegetation Classification Standard...
habitat community the very widespread MG1 (Arrhenatherum elatius grassland)
British NVC community MG1
British NVC community MG1 is one of the mesotrophic grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.It is a very widespread community throughout the British lowlands...
, and thus can be found where Arrhenatherum elatius
Arrhenatherum elatius
-Introduction:Arrhenatherum elatius, with the common names false oat-grass, tall oat-grass, tall meadow oat, onion couch and tuber oat-grass, is a perennial species of grass, common in the temperate regions of Europe....
, (also known as False Oat grass), occurs..
It can be found in meadows, pasture, roadsides, and rough grassland.
It has been introduced into North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and is now widely naturalised
Naturalisation (biology)
In biology, naturalisation is any process by which a non-native organism spreads into the wild and its reproduction is sufficient to maintain its population. Such populations are said to be naturalised....
. In some areas, it has become an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
. Other names include cocksfoot, cocksfoot grass, and (in cultivation in the USA) orchard grass.
Description
Cock's-foot grows in dense perennial tussocks to 20–140 centimetres tall, with grey-green leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
20–50 cm long and up to 1.5 cm broad, and a distinctive tufted triangular flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
head 10–15 cm 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 mm 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.
Taxonomy
Dactylis glomerata is treated as the sole species in the genus DactylisDactylis
Dactylis is a genus of grasses in the subfamily Pooideae, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. They are known in English as cock's-foot or cocksfoot grasses, also sometimes as orchard grasses.-Taxonomy:...
by some authors, while other authorities accept an additional one to four species in the genus. It is commonly divided into several regional subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, particularly by those authors accepting only the single species:
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. glomerata. Widespread; described from Europe.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. altaica. Central Asia.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. himalayensis. (syn. D. himalayensis). Western Himalaya.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. hispanica (syn. D. hispanica). Mediterranean, SW Asia.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. ibizensis. Balearic IslandsBalearic IslandsThe Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
. - Dactylis glomerata subsp. judaica
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. juncinella. Spain.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. lobata (syn. D. glomerata subsp. aschersoniana, D. aschersoniana, D. polygama). Central Europe.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. lusitanica. Portugal.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. marina (syn. D. marina). Western Mediterranean region, Iberia, Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. - Dactylis glomerata subsp. reichenbachii. Italy.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. santai
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. slovenica. Central Europe.
- Dactylis glomerata subsp. smithii (syn. D. smithii). MacaronesiaMacaronesiaMacaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging to three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde...
. - Dactylis glomerata subsp. woronowii (syn. D. woronowii). Russia.
Dactylis glomerata subsp. glomerata and subsp. hispanica are tetraploid
Polyploidy
Polyploid is a term used to describe cells and organisms containing more than two paired sets of chromosomes. Most eukaryotic species are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes — one set inherited from each parent. However polyploidy is found in some organisms and is especially common...
forms with 28 chromosomes; some of the other subspecies, including subsp. himalayensis and subsp. lobata are diploid, with 2n = 14. Hexaploid forms with 42 chromosomes are also known, but rare. Tetraploid forms are larger and coarser than diploid forms.
Cultivation and uses
Cock's-foot is widely used as a hay grass and for pastures because of its high yields and sugar content, sweeter than most other temperate grasses. In dry areas such as much of Australia, Mediterranean subspecies such as subsp. hispanica are preferred for their greater drought tolerance.. It requires careful grazing management - if it is undergrazed it becomes course and unpalatable.In some areas to which it has been introduced, Cock's-foot has become an invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
weed, notably some areas of the eastern United States.
As with other grasses, the pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
can cause allergic rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis, also known as pollenosis or hay fever, is an allergic inflammation of the nasal airways.It occurs when an allergen, such as pollen, dust or animal dander is inhaled by an individual with a sensitized immune system...
(hay fever) in some people.
Cock's-foot is sold in small containers at a height to about 10-15 cm labelled as "cat grass" for indoor cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s to eat.
Butterfly foodplant
Butterflies whose caterpillarCaterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s feed on Cocksfoot include:
- Meadow BrownMeadow BrownThe Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina, is a butterfly found in European meadows, where its larvae feed on grasses, such as Sheep's Fescue.Similar species are Gatekeeper and Small Heath ....
Maniola jurtina - Wall BrownWall BrownThe Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae . It is widespread in the Palearctic ecozone with a large variety of habitats and a number of generations a year.-Range:...
Lasiommata megera - GatekeeperGatekeeperGatekeeper or gatekeeping may refer to:* Gatekeeper , a professional boxer who is considered a test for aspiring boxers* Gatekeeping , a person or organization who manages or constrains a flow of knowledge...
Pyronia tithonus - Large SkipperLarge SkipperThe Large Skipper is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family, which occurs throughout Europe. It was long known as Ochlodes venata, but this is a Far Eastern relative. There is still some dispute whether this species should be considered a distinct species or included in O...
Ochlodes venata - Essex SkipperEssex SkipperThe Essex Skipper is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. In North America, it is known as the European Skipper....
Thymelicus lineola - Small SkipperSmall SkipperThe Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.-Appearance, behaviour and distribution:It has a rusty orange colour to the wings, upper body and the tips of the antennae. The body is silvery white below and it has a wingspan of 25–30 mm. This butterfly is very...
Thymelicus sylvestris - Zabulon SkipperZabulon SkipperThe Zabulon Skipper, Poanes zabulon, is a North American butterfly first described by the French naturalists Jean Baptiste Boisduval and John Eatton Le Conte from the state of Georgia, United States....
Poanes zabulon - Speckled WoodSpeckled WoodThe Speckled Wood is a butterfly found in and on the borders of woodland throughout much of the Palearctic ecozone.In North Europe, Central Europe , Asia Minor, Syria, Russia and Central Asia where subspecies P. a. tircis occurs it is brown with pale yellow or cream spots and darker upperwing...
Pararge aegeria