Alopecurus aequalis Seeds | Shortawn Foxtail
LATIN NAME: Alopecurus aequalis
COMMON NAME: Shortawn Foxtail
Plant Profile
Shortawn foxtail is the amphibious grass of wet meadows and pond margins, with a soft head and almost no awn at all, and it grows in shallow water. It is native across the northern hemisphere, from Europe and North Africa through Asia to North America, and it grows in marshes, wet pastures, ditches, poached gateways and the muddy edges of ponds, often where the ground is under water for part of the year. The plant is a tufted annual or short-lived perennial of 20 to 50 cm, with soft, pale green leaves and a slender, cylindrical head of spikelets whose awns are so short that the head looks smooth. It flowers from spring to autumn and sets seed continuously, and the seed floats, which is how it reaches new pools. It is a useful indicator of wet ground and a valuable component of wet grassland, though it is also a weed of rice and of irrigated crops.
Science & Biotechnology
Alopecurus aequalis is adapted to a life that alternates between floods and drought: it germinates on mud, survives submergence for weeks by elongating its leaves and stems towards the surface, and sets seed on stems that can still flower if the water rises. The seed is buoyant and can survive passage through water and through the gut of waterfowl, which explains its presence in isolated ponds. The species is a diploid annual in most of its range, and it is wind-pollinated and self-incompatible, like other foxtails. Unlike the arable foxtails, it has almost no awn, and the spikelets are small and soft, which gives the head its smooth look. It is a valuable plant in wet meadows, where it provides early grazing and cover for invertebrates, and it is one of the species that disappears when a meadow is drained. In rice fields it is a weed, and it has evolved resistance to some herbicides in Asia.
Uses & Benefits
The plant is grazed by cattle and cut for hay in wet pastures, and it is one of the grasses that make a seasonal marsh worth keeping. It provides cover and seed for waterfowl and invertebrates, and it is used in wetland restoration and in the planting of pond margins and swales. In traditional medicine the whole plant is used as a diuretic and a cooling remedy, and the seed has been eaten in times of scarcity. For a gardener it is a plant for a bog garden or a wet meadow, where it will seed itself into the wetter patches, and it is useful as an indicator of where the ground stays wet. It is a weed in rice and in irrigated beds, and it can spread quickly in a wet lawn. It has no ornamental value beyond its soft green heads.
Growing from Seed
Sow seed on wet mud in spring at 15 to 20 degrees, or scatter it on the surface of a pot standing in water; germination is fast and the seedlings grow quickly. It needs full sun and wet soil, and it tolerates up to ten centimetres of water over the crown for part of the year. Plant it in a bog garden, at the edge of a pond or in a wet meadow, and let it seed itself into the muddy margins. Do not fertilise, since rich soil produces rank growth that falls over. In a rice bed, control it by draining the field at the right moment and by rotating herbicides. It is hardy to about minus twenty and needs no winter protection. Cut it back after seeding if it becomes untidy.
Our Take
A soft-headed foxtail of wet meadows and pond edges, with almost no awn and a talent for living in shallow water.
Related Reading
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