48 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 
MEADOW FOXTAIL (Alopecurus pratensis L.). 
Plate 4; Seed, Plate 26, Fig. 8. 
Botanical description: Meadow Foxtail is a perennial much 
resembling Timothy. It has a short rootstock, which produces 
scaly, underground runners. The ends of the runners develop into 
stems and leafy shoots. If the runners are very short, as they 
generally are in comparatively dry soils, the whole plant becomes 
tufted almost like Timothy. If the runners grow to any consider- 
able length, as they often do in wet and loose soil, the tufts are 
looser and less marked. The stems are from two to four feet high, 
sometimes knee-bent and rooting at the base. They are smooth and 
leafy to above the middle. The bulk of the leaves is produced by 
the basal shoots. They are generally long, broad and soft, the sheaths 
of the upper ones often being swollen. 
The flowers are in a spike rather like that of Timothy. The 
spike of Meadow Foxtail can, however, always be easily recognized 
by its softness; that of Timothy is rough. The softness of the spike, 
which has given the plant its name, is due to the spikelets being 
covered with long, soft hairs. Each spikelet contains a single flower 
enclosed within two acutely keeled glumes, which are fastened 
together at their base. The flower carries an awn at its back, the 
awns projecting above the top of the spikelets and giving the spike 
a bristly appearance. Fertilization being accomplished by means 
of air currents, there isa chance for self- as well as cross-fertilization. 
The latter is the more common on account of the arrangement of 
the stamens and pistil during flowering. 
Geographical distribution: Meadow Foxtail is indigenous to 
the greater part of Europe, northern Africa and central and northern 
Asia. It is distributed throughout eastern and central Canada and 
is now grown in practically all European countries. It occurs nat- 
urally in moist meadows, marsh lands, along ditches and streams 
with low banks, and generally in moist soil rich in nutritive matter. 
Cultural conditions: Although preferring wet localities 
Meadow Foxtail cannot be grown successfully where water remains 
stagnant the greater part of the year. It thrives best in low-lying 
clays and loams which are temporarily flooded. It is extremely 
resistant to frost and is regarded as the earliest grass for eastern 
Canada. It starts early in spring and has reached full development 
