Alopecurus

"Tozzettia" redirects here. For another plant genus alternatively known as Tozzettia, see Fritillaria.

Foxtail grass
Slender meadow foxtail ( Alopecurus myosuroides )
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Supertribe:	Poodae
Tribe:	Poeae
Subtribe:	Alopecurinae
Genus:	Alopecurus L. [1]
Type species
Alopecurus pratus L. [2] [3]
Synonyms [4]
AlopecuropsisOpiz CerdosurusEhrh. ColobachneP.Beauv. CornucopiaeL. TozzettiaSavi

meadow foxtail
( Alopecurus pratensis )

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. ^[6]

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. ^[4]

• 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
• Alopecurus gerardii Vill. – Mediterranean
• Alopecurus goekyigitianus Cabi & Soreng – Turkey
• Alopecurus glacialis K.Koch – Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan
• Alopecurus × haussknechtianus Asch. & Graebn. – central + northwestern Europe
• Alopecurus heliochloides Hack. – Chile
• Alopecurus himalaicus Hook.f. – Himalayas, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia, Xinjiang
• Alopecurus hitchcockii Parodi – Peru, Bolivia, Jujuy
• Alopecurus japonicus Steud. – China, Japan, Korea
• Alopecurus laguroides Balansa – Caucasus, Turkey
• Alopecurus lanatus Sm. – Turkey
• Alopecurus longiaristatus Maxim. – Heilongjiang, Primorye, Khabarovsk
• Alopecurus magellanicus Lam. – northern Eurasia, North + South America, Falkland Is, South Georgia
• Alopecurus × marssonii Hausskn. – Ukraine
• Alopecurus mucronatus Hack. – Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan
• Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. – Slender meadow foxtail, black grass, twitch grass, black twitch – Eurasia, North Africa
• Alopecurus nepalensis Trin. ex Steud. – Himalayas, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
• Alopecurus × plettkei Mattf. – France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands
• Alopecurus ponticus K.Koch – Caucasus
• Alopecurus pratensis L. – meadow foxtail – Eurasia from Azores to Mongolia
• Alopecurus rendlei Eig – central + southern Europe, Algeria, Libya, Turkey
• Alopecurus saccatus Vasey – Pacific foxtail – United States (WA OR ID CA), Baja California
• Alopecurus setarioides Gren. – France, Greece, Italy, Balkans, Turkey
• Alopecurus textilis Boiss. – Turkey, Caucasus, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan
• Alopecurus turczaninovii O.D.Nikif. – Siberia
• Alopecurus × turicensis Brügger – France, Switzerland
• Alopecurus tzvelevii V.A.Agaf., Laktionov, Yu.E.Alexeev & Mavrodiev – central European Russia
• Alopecurus utriculatus Banks & Sol. – Greece, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine
• Alopecurus vaginatus (Willd.) Pall. ex Kunth – Crimea, Caucasus, Turkey, Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan
• Alopecurus × winklerianus Asch. & Graebn. – France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland

Formerly included

Numerous species once considered part of Alopecurus but now regarded as better suited to other genera: Agrostis , Crypsis , Koeleria , Milium , Muhlenbergia , Pennisetum , Perotis , Phleum , Polypogon , Rostraria , Setaria and, Tribolium . ^[7]

See also

• List of Poaceae genera

References

1. Linnaeus, Carl von 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 60–61 in Latin
2. lectotype designated by Cope, Regnum Veg. 127: 17 (1993)
3. Tropicos, Alopecurus L.
4. "Alopecurus L." Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 29 May 2025.
5. illustration from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885
6. Watson L, Dallwitz MJ. (2008). "The grass genera of the world: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval; including synonyms, morphology, anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, cytology, classification, pathogens, world and local distribution, and references". The Grass Genera of the World. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
7. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Grass Manual Genus Treatment