Lagurus ovatus

Lagurus is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to the Mediterranean Basin and nearby regions, from Azores and the Canary Islands to Crimea and Saudi Arabia. It is also naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Great Britain, and scattered locations in the Americas.[1][2][3] The only known species is Lagurus ovatus, commonly called hare's-tail,[4] hare's-tail grass or bunnytail.[5] It is also grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive flower panicles.[6]

Lagurus ovatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Supertribe: Poodae
Tribe: Poeae
Subtribe: Aveninae
Genus: Lagurus
L.
Species:
L. ovatus
Binomial name
Lagurus ovatus
Synonyms[1]
  • Imperata ovata Tratt.
  • Lagurus dalmaticus Gand.
  • Lagurus dimorphus Gand.
  • Lagurus freynii Gand.
  • Lagurus humilis Gand.
  • Lagurus longifolius Gand.
  • Lagurus nitens Lojac.
  • Lagurus siculus Lojac.

Description

Lagurus ovatus is a clump-forming annual growing to 50 cm (20 in) tall by 30 cm (12 in) tall, with pale green grassy foliage and numerous short, oval green flowerheads, turning to a buff colour as they ripen, all summer long.[5][7][8]

Seeds

Diagnostic features

Distribution

Native to the Mediterranean and introduced into Britain, it is now thriving on sandy stretches in the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, occasionally found in Ireland and South Wales. It has become naturalized in County Wexford, Ireland, South Devon and West Sussex.[9]

This plant is known or likely to be susceptible to barley mild mosaic bymovirus.

Formerly included species

Species once considered part of Lagurus but now regarded as better suited to other genera (Cymbopogon, Imperata)

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Lagurus
  3. USDA Plants Profile: Lagurus
  4. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  5. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
  6. Umberto Quattrocchi (2006). CRC World Dictionary of Grasses: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press. pp. 1177–. ISBN 978-0-8493-1303-5.
  7. Tucker, G. C. Lagurus. Archived 2010-06-26 at the Wayback Machine Grass Manual. Flora of North America.
  8. Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
  9. Hubbard, C. E. (1968). Grasses, A Guide to Their Structure, Identification, Uses, and Distribution in the British Isles (2nd ed.). Penguin Books. p. 476.
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