Rye-grasses, Couches and Similar Species
Grasses - Poaceae
Perennial Rye-grass Lolium perenneNative from Macaronesia eastwards through Europe and the Mediterranean Region to Siberia and Central Asia. Widely introduced throughout the World as a cultivated plant. Plants 30-80cm in height, variably tussocky or more open and with non-flowering shoots (tillers) at flowering and fruiting time as well as creeping rhizomes. Leaf blades 2-6mm wide, hairless, slightly ridged on the upper side and distinctly glossy on the underside, folded along the midrib when emerging. Leaf sheaths rounded and hairless. Ligule membranous, short. Flower spike long, narrow and wiry. Spikelets 7-20mm with 4-14 florets, alternating from one side to the other along a sinuous central stem, with the flat face of the spikelets at 90 degrees to the central stem. Lemmas blunt or pointed at the tip, but without awns.
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Italian Rye-grass Lolium multiflorum
Native from Macaronesia eastwards through the Mediterranean Region to Central Asia. Widely introduced throughout the World as a cultivated plant. Plants 30-80cm in height, variably tussocky or more open but without non-flowering shoots (tillers) or creeping rhizomes at flowering and fruiting time. Leaf blades 2-10mm wide, hairless, slightly ridged on the upper side and distinctly glossy on the underside, inrolled along their length when emerging. Leaf sheaths rounded and hairless. Ligule membranous, short. Flower spike long, narrow and wiry. Spikelets 8-25mm with 5-15 florets, alternating from one side to the other along a sinuous central stem, with the flat face of the spikelets at 90 degrees to the central stem. Lemmas blunt or pointed at the tip, with an awn up to 10mm long.
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Stiff False-brome Brachypodium distachyon
Native throughout the Mediterranean region to western Asia. Plants 2-45cm in height with stems often bent at a node towards the base and often somewhat glaucous. Leaf blades 2-5mm wide, sparsely hairy or hairless, with rough, thickened margins and ending in a rigid, acute tip. Flower spike upright. Spikelets slender, 10-25mm long, each with 8-12 florets. Lemmas 8-9mm, the upper ones with an awn to 9mm in length.
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