ORCHARD GRASS
File Size: 60 KB
 
Dactylis glomerata  L.
Mitchell County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 18-48 inches
Family: Poaceae - Grass Family
Flowering Period:   May, June
Culms: Erect, hallow, smooth.
Blades: Flat or folded, 3-17 inches long, less than 1/2 inch wide, mid-vein conspicuous beneath, rough on surfaces and margins when mature; tips tapered to points.
Sheaths: Closed toward bases, glabrous; margins overlapping and fused.
Ligules: Membranous, irregularly cut or torn.
Inflorescences: Panicles, 2-8 inches long; major branches few.
Spikelets: In crowded 1-sided clusters, on short stalks, 2-6-flowered, oblong, around 1/4 inch long, pale green to purplish; glumes and lemmas pointed or with short awns.
Habitat: Fields, meadows, pastures, woodlands, lawns, and waste areas.
Distribution: Throughout Kansas.
Origin: Orchard grass was introduced to North America from Europe in the 18th century. It is now naturalized.
Forage Value: It was cultivated as a pasture and hay grass and provides good forage for livestock and deer.
Comments: Tufted. Orchard grass spreads aggressively and can become troublesome in lawns. It grows particularly well in shaded areas. When flowering, the pollen of orchard grass causes hay-fever.

Orchard grass inflorescence
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Mitchell County, Kansas
Orchard grass
154 KB
Mitchell County, Kansas
Orchard grass ligule
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Mitchell County, Kansas
Orchard grass
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Mitchell County, Kansas
Orchard grass anthers
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Mitchell County, Kansas