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• Dichotomous Key
• Poaceae
• Poaceae Group 7
• Polypogon
• Polypogon monspeliensis

Polypogon monspeliensis — annual rabbit's-foot grass

Facts

Annual rabbit's-foot grass is a non-native that is introduced throughout the temperate world. In New England it is found in disturbed areas in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  0.2–1 mm

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has an awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  no

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  1

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume awn length

  3–10 mm

  Glume keel

  the glume keels are rough or hairy

  Glume relative length

  both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets

  Glume shape

  the glume is V-shaped in cross-section

  Glume veins

  1

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  • the inflorescence axis is arched or curved outward
  • the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branch roughness

  the inflorescence branches are somewhat to very rough

  Inflorescence branches

  • the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
  • there are no branch points between the base of the inflorescence axis and the flowers, or they are not obvious

  Inflorescence crowding

  the panicle is somewhat to very congested (crowded), and the branches may not be clearly seen without close inspection

  Inflorescence length

  10–170 mm

  Inflorescence length to width ratio

  1–4.9

  Inflorescence type (general)

  • the inflorescence is a spike, or is spike-like, lacking obvious branches
  • the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inflorescence width

  10–35 mm

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  the awn is attached right at the tip of the lemma

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn

  Lemma awn length

  0.5–4 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has one awn on it

  Lemma awn orientation

  • the awn of the lemma is straight
  • the awn of the lemma on dried or older plants is curved or bent outwards

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma hairs

  the lemma is hairless between the veins

  Lemma keel hairs

  NA

  Lemma marginal vein hairs

  the marginal vein of the lemma is hairless

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is split into two or more points

  Lemma tip shape

  • the lemma tip is rounded off or truncate (ends abruptly in a more or less straight line as though cut off); it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip
  • the lemma tip tapers to a broad point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)

  Lemma vein number

  5

  Lower glume length

  1–2.7 mm

  Lower glume relative length

  the lower glume is nearly as long, or as long as, the upper glume

  One or more florets

  there is one floret per spikelet

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off below the glumes

  Spikelet length

  1–3 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  Up to 0

  Spikelet pedicel

  • the spikelets do not have pedicels
  • the spikelets have pedicels

  Spikelet pedicel length

  0–1 mm

  Spikelet position

  the spikelets emerge from both the upper and lower halves of the inflorescence branches

  Spikelet shape

  the spikelets are oblong (rectangular, but with rounded ends) in profile

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Tip of glume

  the tip of the glume is divided into two or more points

  Upper glume length

  1–2.7 mm

  Upper glume relative length

  the upper glume is more than one half as long as the lowest lemma

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Fruits or seeds

  Seed length

  0.8–1 mm

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives only a single year or less

  Rhizomes

  no

  Roots

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  • the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem
  • the plant has large or prominent tufts of leaves at the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf basal lobe hairy

  NA

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards

  Leaf blade length

  1–20 cm

  Leaf blade texture

  • the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery
  • the leaf blade is smooth, or it may have soft hairs

  Leaf blade width

  5–7 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  2.5–16 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath color and persistence

  the leaf sheathes are off-white to light-brown and mostly persist in older leaves

  Leaf sheath hair type

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Leaf sheath hairs

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire

  Specific habitat

  man-made or disturbed habitats

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Plant height

  5–100 cm

  Roots at lower stem nodes

  no

  Stem orientation

  • the stems are upright
  • the stems trail at the base, but turn upwards at the tips

  Stem spacing

  • the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts
  • the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae