Family: Poaceae
foxtail barley, squirrel-tail grass
[Critesion jubatum (L.) Nevski]
Etymology: Hordeum: ancient Latin name for barley
Plants: perennial grass
Conservation Status: Introduced - naturalized
Plants: perennial grass
Conservation Status: Introduced - naturalized
Roadsides (especially highways), ditches, along railroads, fields and pastures, waste areas, gravel lots and gravel pits, agricultural land, pavement cracks, beaches, mudflats, rocky flats along rivers, rarely invading prairies or oak-jack pine scrub. A native of the western states, purportedly exotic in Wisconsin but Increase A. Lapham (1853) noted it on “damp level prairies”. First collected in 1878. This species is abundant along highways, especially in saline ditches. In early summer, the large swaths of pinkish inflorescences along highways create a beautiful sight in an otherwise boring area.
Flora of North America: Flora of North America Floristic Rating: Wetland Indicator = FAC+ USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos Grasses of Iowa: Detailed photographs, descriptions, maps Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food
Alberta Government: "The identification of certain native and naturalized grasses by their vegetative characters", S.E. Clarke, J.A. Campbell and W. Shevkenek. 1950.
(Publication no. 762 ; Technical bulletin no. 50). Drawings, descriptions. USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc.
Alberta Government: "The identification of certain native and naturalized grasses by their vegetative characters", S.E. Clarke, J.A. Campbell and W. Shevkenek. 1950.
(Publication no. 762 ; Technical bulletin no. 50). Drawings, descriptions. USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc.