Dactylis glomerata L.

Orchard Grass; Cock's Foot

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Orchard Grass is an introduced perennial in the Grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Europe, portions of Asia, and northern Africa. In Alabama in can be found statewide but is most common in the northern half of the state. It is a cool season bunch-grass with short rhizomes and a fibrous root system. Non-flowering stems are 1-2 feet in height, and flowering stems are 3-6 feet tall. The stems are round, light green in color, and glabrous. Leaves are basal and cauline. The cauline leaves are alternate. Leaves are linear, glabrous, and entire. Both surfaces of the leaf and the leaf margins are rough to the touch. The leaf sheaths are glabrous and the ligules are papery membranes. Flowers are produced in dense spikelets arranged in panicles. Each greenish-white spikelet contains 2-7 flowers. The first glume is 1-nerved and shorter than the second glume which is 3-nerved. The lemmas are 5-nerved, keeled, and ciliate along the margins. The fruit is a grain. Orchard Grass is a larval food plant for the Little Wood-Satyr (Megisto cymela), and several Owlet Moths (Noctuidae). It is sometimes planted as a pasture grass for cattle, sheep, and goats. It is also widely used for erosion control and for reclamation of mining sites.—A. Diamond

**

Not Native FACU (NWPL) GNR (Global Rank)

**