QUACKGRASS
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Elymus repens   (L. ) Gould
[=Agropyron repens  (L. ) Beauv.]
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 12-40 inches
Family: Poaceae - Grass Family
Flowering Period:   June, July, August
Culms: Erect to decumbent, branched at base, hollow, glabrous, bright green or waxy.
Blades: Mostly flat, 3 to 12 inches long, 1/10 to 1/2 inch wide, bright green, sparsely soft-hairy above, smooth beneath, surfaces ridged or unridged; auricles prominent.
Sheaths: Usually shorter than internodes, glabrous or lower sheaths sparsely soft-hairy.
Ligules: Very short, membranous, truncate.
Inflorescences: Spike, erect, slender or stout, loose to compact, 2-sided, 2 to 7 inches long.
Spikelets: Arranged in 2 rows, usually single at each node, erect, sessile, nearly cylindric or slightly compressed, 3-8-flowered, 2/5 to 3/5 inch long, spikelet side toward rachis; glumes shorter than spikelets, opposite or placed edge to edge on outer side of spikelet, lanceolate, 1/5 to 1/2 inch long, 3-7-nerved, slightly leathery and rigid, gradually tapering into awn or awn-point; lemmas 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, upper progressively shorter, rounded on back, strongly nerved, awnless or awns to 1/4 inch long.
Habitat: Disturbed areas, pastures, roadsides, fields, lawns, and gardens; moist soils.
Distribution: East 1/3 of Kansas.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia.
Reproduction: By seeds and rhizomes.
Forage Value: Provides fair forage for livestock and deer and can be used for hay.
Uses: Turkeys and prairie chickens eat the seeds.
Comments: Quackgrass is a cool season grass designated as a noxious weed in Kansas. It is aggressive and difficult to eradicate.

Quackgrass
165 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Quackgrass
145 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Quackgrass
160 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Quackgrass spikelets
58 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Quackgrass spikelets
74 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas