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 is a 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 



