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Holcus lanatus L.

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General Information
ID Info
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Family :

Famille :

Poaceae

Synonym(s) :

Synonyme(s) :

Avena lanata (Linnaeus) Koeler (Walters 2011; eFloras 2024; POWO 2024)
Ginannia lanata (L.) F.T.Hubb. (POWO 2024)
Holcus argenteus C. Agardh ex Roem. & Schult. (POWO 2024; USDA-ARS 2024)
Notholcus lanatus (L.) Nash ex Hitchc. (POWO 2024; USDA-ARS 2024)

Common Name(s) :

Nom(s) commun(s) :

Velvetgrass

(English) (Barkworth et al. 2007; AOSA 2024; FSA 2024)
Velvet grass (English) (Darbyshire 2003; APNI 2024)
Common velvet grass (English) (Gucker 2008; Roberts 2013)
Common velvetgrass (English) (USDA-NRCS 2024)
Creeping soft grass (English) (Roberts 2013)
Fog grass (English) (Roberts 2013)
Meadow soft-grass (English) (APNI 2024)
Sweet velvet grass (English) (Gucker 2008)
Tufted soft-grass (English) (APNI 2024)
Woolly soft grass (English) (Roberts 2013)
Yorkshire fog (English) (Barkworth et al. 2007; ALA 2024; APNI 2024)
Yorkshire-fog (English) (Rehm 1994; APNI 2024)
Foin de mouton (French) (Roberts 2013)
Holoque laineuse (French) (Rehm 1994)
Houlque velue (French) (Rehm 1994)
Houlque laineuse (French) (Barkworth et al. 2007; Darbyshire 2003)
Wolliges Honiggras (German) (Rehm 1994)
Erba bambagiona (Italian) (ISTA 1982)
Erva-lanar (Portuguese) (Rehm 1994)
Grama vellosa (Spanish) (Roberts 2013)
Heno blanco (Spanish) (Rehm 1994)
Holco velloso (Spanish) (Roberts 2013)
Pasto velludo (Spanish) (Roberts 2013)
Rong mao cao (transcribed Chinese 绒毛草) (eFloras 2024)

Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) spikelet. Scale in mm.

  • Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) spikelet. Scale in mm.

  • Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) spikelet

  • Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) opened spikelet containing two florets. Scale in mm.

  • Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) fertile floret, spikelet, fertile floret with sterile floret (L – R)

  • Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) fertile floret with sterile floret

  • Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) fertile floret (lower) and sterile floret with hook-shaped awn (upper). Scale in mm.

  • Holcus lanatus L. (velvetgrass) fertile floret in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) fertile floret in palea view showing the rachilla. Scale in mm.

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Overview

Aperçu

Regulation :

Remarques Réglementation:

    Regulation Notes:

    • Seeds of Holcus lanatus are classified as “noxious weed seeds” or “undesirable grass seeds” when found as a seed lot contaminant in lawn and turf grass seed lots in Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia in the United States (USDA-AMS 2024).

    Distribution :

    Répartition :

    Holcus lanatus is native to much of Europe, parts of north-western Africa, Canary Islands, Madeira Islands, and parts of temperate Asia particularly in Lebanon, Turkey, and the Caucasus region (Roberts 2013; POWO 2024; USDA-ARS 2024). The species is naturalized in the Azores, South Africa, Reunion, India, China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Mexico, sub-Antarctic islands, as well as many parts of South America (Pitcher and Russo 1988; USDA-ARS 2024).

    Habitat and Crop Association :

    Habitat et Cultures Associées :

    Holcus lanatus grows in a wide range of temperate climates, however it can be killed by severe frost. The species prefers a moist environment but can survive moderate periods of drought (Thompson and Turkington 1988). It is commonly found in pastures, grasslands, meadows, lawns, cultivated and open fields, orchards, roadsides, rocky outcrops with thin soils, ditch banks, streambanks, woodland margins, sandy soils, and disturbed ground (Thompson and Turkington 1988; DiTomaso and Healy 2007; Gucker 2008; Roberts 2013).

    H. lanatus is a widespread weed of forage seed crops (Roberts 2013) and is a common contaminant of grass seed crops and a weed of sports turf and lawns (Thompson and Turkington 1988).

    Economic Use, cultivation area, and Weed Association :

    Utilisation économique, zone de culture et association de mauvaises herbes :

    Holcus lanatus is cultivated in parts of Britain, New Zealand, Falkland Islands, China, Bhutan, Australia, Austria, Brazil, and Chile (Thompson and Turkington 1988; eFloras 2024; USDA-ARS 2024). The major economic use of H. lanatus is in livestock pastures and is also
    grown as a cover crop for soil stabilization and erosion control (Thompson and Turkington 1988).

    Duration of Life Cycle :

    Durée du cycle vital:

    Perennial

    Dispersal Unit Type :

    Type d’unité de dispersion :

    Spikelet, floret

    General Information

    RENSEIGNEMENTS GÉNÉRAUX

    H. lanatus attains high levels of production on soils with low nutrient levels (Thompson and Turkington 1988). Early growth is readily eaten by grazing animals but as the plants grow taller and flower, they lose their appeal (Crampton 1974), most likely due to the hairy mature foliage (Roberts 2013). Although it can form dense stands in moist meadows, it can crowd out more desirable forage and it yields poor quality hay (Crampton 1974). In addition to grazing cattle and sheep, H. lanatus is consumed by game birds, deer, and elk. It is an important food source for California quail (Callipepla californica) (Gucker 2008).

    Holcus lanatus is a wind pollinated, predominantly outcrossing species (Thompson and Turkington 1988). In the northern hemisphere, H. lanatus plants sown in January through June can produce an average of 177,000 to 240,000 seeds per plant, while those sown later in the summer decline in seed production to about 2,000 seeds/plant (Thompson and Turkington 1988).

    Wind, water, human activity, and animals play a role in seed dispersal (Roberts 2013). The relatively flat and light weight spikelets are easily blown by wind and can float on water for many days (Roberts 2013). The seeds can survive passage through the digestive tracts of certain bird species, as well as earthworms, rabbits and cattle (Bond et al. 2007; Roberts 2013). H. lanatus has been reported as a seed lot contaminant in clover, lawn, turf, and cereal seeds (Bond et al. 2007).

    Experiments have shown seeds of H. lanatus start to become viable within 9 days after anthesis and can achieve 100 percent viability at 20 days after anthesis when grown under alternating temperatures of 20°C for 18 hours and 28°C for 6 hours (Beddows 1961). Seeds stored in controlled conditions were 82% viable after 1 year, 6% viable after 4 years, and non-viable after 20 years (Roberts 2013). Field experiments of seeds buried at various soil depths showed some seeds remained viable after 4 years, but none were viable after 20 years (Roberts 2013). Seed burial studies showed a reduction in seed viability depending on burial depth. Seeds buried at a depth of 1 cm were 76% viable, while those buried at a depth of 2 cm were only 5% viable (Pitcher et al. 1988).

    Apart from being a prolific seed producer, H. lanatus is also a profusely tillering species, which allows the species to spread quite rapidly vegetatively by forming new shoots and roots at the nodes (Thompson and Turkington 1988).

    .

    Identification

    Identification

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    • Spikelet

      Size

      • Spikelet length*: 4.2 – 5.1 mm (average 4.6 mm); width*: 1.5 – 2.0 mm (average 1.7 mm).
      • Lower (1st) glume length*: 3.8 – 4.8 mm (average 4.3 mm).
      • Upper (2nd) glume length*: 4.2 – 5.1 mm (average 4.6 mm).
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 spikelets in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020).
      • Measurements from the literature:
        • Spikelet 3 – 6 mm long (Thompson and Turkington 1988; Barkworth et al. 2007).
        • Spikelet 4 – 6 mm long (Walters 2011).

      Shape

      • Spikelet is egg-shaped to teardrop-shaped (lanceolate).
      • Glumes laterally compressed, exceeding and enclosing the florets.
      • Glumes unequal, lower (1st) glume shorter and narrower than upper (2nd) glume.
      • Lower glume overlapping the upper, the margins of the lower glume nearly touching the lateral nerves of the upper glume when spikelet is closed, spikelet may gape open when mature.
      • Both glumes strongly keeled.
      • Lower (1st) glume tapered to a point at the tip; upper (2nd) glume tip obtuse, minutely bifid.
      • Mid-nerve of upper glume may extend into a short awn (up to 1.5 mm long; Walters 2011).

      Surface Texture

      • Glumes thin papery, sparsely hairy between nerves, short hairy near the tips, and with long hairs on keels.
      • Lower (1st) glume 1-nerved.
      • Upper (2nd) glume 3-nerved, lateral nerves are prominent, raised.

      Colour

      • Glumes whitish-yellow to very pale green coloured, sometimes with purplish tinge on the nerves and near the tips.

      Other Features

      • Spikelet consists of two glumes and two florets. The lower floret is fertile (caryopsis producing) and the upper floret is usually staminate (sometimes sterile).
      • Disarticulation occurs below the glumes and the spikelet falls from the plant as a unit.

      Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) spikelet

    • Fertile floret (lower floret)

      Size

      • Fertile floret length*: 2.1 – 2.5 mm (average 2.3 mm); width (lateral view)*: 0.7 – 0.9 mm (average 0.8 mm); width (palea view) 0.6 mm – 0.7 mm (average 0.66 mm).
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 fertile florets in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020).
      • Size measurements from the literature:
        • Fertile lemma 2 – 2.7 mm long; palea equal in length to lemma (Walters 2011).
        • Fertile lemma 2 – 3 mm long (Thompson and Turkington 1988)
        • Fertile lemma 1.7 – 2.5 mm long (Barkworth et al. 2007).
        • Fertile lemma 2 – 2.5 mm long; rachilla 0.5 mm long (eFloras 2024).

      Shape

      • Fertile floret laterally compressed and slightly keeled, D-shaped to teardrop-shaped in lateral view; narrowly teardrop-shaped (lanceolate) in palea view.
      • Attachment scar on callus nearly circular.
      • Rachilla is long and thread-like.

      Surface Texture

      • Fertile lemma and palea are firm and tough but flexible (cartilaginous), smooth.
      • Lemma with short hairs along upper portion of keel.
      • Palea with two keels, which may be exposed or concealed by the lemma margins.
      • Rachilla is glabrous.
      • Callus with long hairs, up to 1 mm in length (Walters 2011).

      Colour

      • Fertile floret glossy, whitish-yellow coloured, sometimes darker near tip.

      Other Features

      • Fertile floret awnless.

      Holcus lanatus L. (velvetgrass) fertile floret in lateral view. Scale in mm.

    • Staminate floret (upper floret)

      Size

      • Staminate floret length*: 2.0 – 2.3 (average 2.1 mm); width*: 0.3 – 0.5 mm (average 0.4 mm).
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 staminate florets in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020).

      Shape

      • Staminate floret very narrowly teardrop-shaped (narrowly lanceolate).

      Surface Texture

      • Staminate floret lemma is firm and tough but flexible (cartilaginous), smooth.

      Colour

      • Staminate floret whitish-yellow coloured and glossy.
      • Staminate lemma awn golden yellow coloured.

      Other Features

      • Staminate lemma with thick, hook-shaped awn attached below the tip of the lemma.

      Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) fertile floret with sterile floret

    • Caryopsis

      Size

      • Caryopsis length*: 1.4 – 1.6 mm (average 1.5 mm); width (lateral view)*: 0.73 – 0.79 mm (average 0.76 mm).
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 2 caryopses in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020).
      • Measurements from the literature:

      • Caryopsis length: 1 – 1.5 mm; width: 0.4 – 0.5 mm (Walters 2011).
      • Caryopsis length: 1.6 mm (Roberts 2013).

      Shape

      • Caryopsis egg-shaped to teardrop-shaped, laterally compressed, three sided with shallow longitudinal grooved on hilum side.

      Surface Texture

      • Surface of caryopsis smooth.

      Colour

      • Caryopsis light brown coloured.

      Other Features

      • Hilum oval, located in a shallow longitudinal depression.
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    <
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    • Embryo

      Size

      • Embryo about one-quarter to one-third the length of caryopsis.

      Shape

      • Embryo is oval.

      Endosperm

      • Endosperm is soft (Terrell 1977).

      Other Features

      • Embryo in lateral position (Martin 1946).

    Identification Tips

    CONSEILS POUR L’IDENTIFICATION

    • The spikelet of Holus lanatus has two florets; the lower floret is fertile and the upper floret staminate or sterile.
    • Florets are teardrop shaped, whitish-yellow coloured, and glossy.
    • Lemma of lower floret unawned.
    • Lemma of upper floret with golden yellow hook-shaped awn.
    • Glumes papery, laterally compressed, strongly keeled.
    • Glumes exceeding and enclosing the florets.
    • Disarticulation occurs below the glumes; the spikelet falls from the plant as a unit.

    Holcus lanatus (velvetgrass) spikelet. Scale in mm.

    Additional Botany Information

    AUTRES RENSEIGNEMENTS BOTANIQUES

    Flowers/Inflorescence

    • Panicles are compact to open, 3 – 15 (20) cm long and 1 – 8 cm wide, often silvery to pink or purplish green, turning lighter in colour at maturity.
    • Panicle branches are hairy.
    • Pedicels are 0.2 – 1.6 (4) mm long, with soft hairs to 0.3 mm long.
    • Spikelets break away from the inflorescence at maturity as a unit.

    Vegetative Features

    • Plants loosely to compactly tufted, with a fibrous root system, sometimes stoloniferous (Thompson and Turkington 1988).
    • Stems up to 1 m tall, erect or growing upward from prostrate stems. The clumped plants expand via tillering forming a prostrate blanket of stems rooting from the nodes in contact with the soil surface (Gucker 2008).
    • Leaf sheath opened to near base, margins usually overlapping, veins often pinkish coloured (Thompson and Turkington 1988; DiTomaso and Healy 2007). In Australia, the distinctive pink stripe pattern created by the coloured veins near the base of the plants is called ‘stripy pajamas’ (ALA 2024).
    • Ligules 1 – 2 mm long, membranous, covered with tiny hairs, upper edge jagged; auricles lacking (DiTomaso and Healy 2007).
    • Leaf blades 4 – 20 cm long, 3 – 10 mm wide, flat (rolled when young) (Thompson and Turkington 1988).
    • The lower internodes, leaf sheaths, and blades are usually covered with soft hairs, up to 1 mm long (Barkworth et al. 2007).

    Similar Species

    ESPÈCES SEMBLABLES

    Similar species are based on a study of seed morphology of various species, and those with similar dispersal units are identified. The study is limited by physical specimen and literature availability at the time of examination, and possibly impacted by the subjectivity of the authors based on their knowledge and experience. Providing similar species information for seed identification is to make users aware of similarities that could possibly result in misidentification.

    Holcus mollis L.
    German velvetgrass (AOSA 2024)
    Creeping velvetgrass (Barkworth et al. 2007)
    Houlque molle (Barkworth et al. 2007)

    • Spikelet length*: 5.6 – 6.4 mm (average 6.1 mm).
    • Lower glume length*: 4.8 – 5.9 mm (average 5.4 mm).
    • Upper glume length*: 5.6 – 6.4 mm (average 6.1 mm).
    • Lower (fertile) floret length*: 2.4 – 2.8 mm (average 2.7 mm); width (lateral view)*: 0.5 – 0.7 mm (average 0.6 mm).
    • Upper (staminate) floret length*: 2.4 – 2.8 mm (average 2.7 mm); width (lateral view)*: 0.3 – 0.6 mm (average 0.5 mm).
    • Lower glume 1-nerved and upper glume 3-nerved
    • Glumes glabrous between nerves
    • Awn of the upper floret is long and bent (geniculate), extending beyond the glumes.

    In contrast, H. lanatus spikelets are shorter, the upper and lower florets are shorter, the glumes are hairy between nerves, and the awn of upper floret is hook-like and usually enclosed by the glumes.

    *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 spikelets, 10 upper florets, and 10 lower florets in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020).

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    Reference(s)

    Référence(s)

    Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA). 2024. Rules for Testing Seeds. Vol. 3: Uniform Classification of Weed and Crop Seeds. Association of Official Seed Analysts, Wichita, Kansas.

    Atlas of Living Australia (ALA). 2024. Holcus lanatus L., Yorkshite Fog. https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2907479 Accessed October 26, 2024.

    Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). 2024  https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/name/apni/86018/api/apniFormat Accessed October 18, 2024.

    Barkworth, M. E., Capels, K. M., Long, S., Anderton, L. K., and Piep, M. B. 2007. Flora of North America. Vol. 24, Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, part 1. Oxford University Press.

    Beddows, A. R. 1961. Biological Flora of the British Isles. Holcus lanatus L. Journal of Ecology 49:421-430.

    Bond, W., Davies, G., and Turner, R. 2007. The Biology and Non-chemical Control of Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus L.). HDRA, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry, UK. http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicwweeds

    Crampton, B. 1974. Grasses in California. University of California Press.

    Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 48.

    DiTomaso, J. M. and Healy, E. A. 2007. Weeds of California and Other Western States. Vol. 2: Geraniaceae – Zygophyllaceae. Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication 3488. University of California, Oakland, CA.

    eFloras. 2024. Flora of China, Holcus lanatus. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200025530 Accessed October 18, 2024.

    Federal Seed Act (FSA). Federal Seed Act Requirements, Section 201.2. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-K/part-201?toc=1 Accessed October 18, 2024.

    Gucker, C. L. 2008. Holcus lanatus. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/graminoid/hollan/all.html Accessed October 25, 2024.

    International Seed Morphology Association (ISMA). 2020. Method for seed size measurement. Version 1.0. ISMA Publication Guide. https://www.idseed.org/authors/details/method_for_seed_size_measurement.html

    International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.

    Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. The American Midland Naturalist 36: 513-660.

    Pitcher, D. and Russo, M. J. 1988. The Nature Conservancy Element Stewardship Abstract for Holcus lanatus. The Nature Conservancy. https://wiki.bugwood.org/Holcus_lanatus.

    Plants of the World Online (POWO). 2024. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ Accessed October 8, 2024.

    Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual Dictionary of Agronomic Plants. Springer Science & Business Media.

    Roberts, P. 2013. Holcus lanatus (common velvet grass). CABI Compendium. https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.114824 Accessed October 23, 2024.

    Thompson, J. D. and Turkington, R. (1988). The biology of Canadian weeds. 82. Holcus lanatus L. Can. J. Plant Sci. 68: pp.131-147. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.4141/cjps88-014.

    United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS). 2024. State Noxious-Weed Seed Requirements Recognized in the Administration of the Federal Seed Act. https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/StateNoxiousWeedsSeedList.pdf Accessed October 23, 2024.

    United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service-National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-ARS). 2024. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=19209 Accessed October 18, 2024.

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-NRCS). 2024. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA. http://plants.usda.gov Accessed October 23, 2024.

    Walters, D.S. 2011. Identification Tool to Weed Disseminules of California Central Valley Table Grape Production Areas. USDA APHIS PPQ CPHST Identification Technology Program, Fort Collins, CO. http://idtools.org/id/table_grape/weed-tool/ Accessed October 13, 2024.

    Author(s)

    AUTEUR(S)

    Deborah J. Lionakis Meyer, California Department of Food and Agriculture (retired)

    Acknowledgements

    The author wishes to thank Krishan Shah, former student of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), for his assistance with literature search and summary.

    contactus@idseed.org

    Last updated
    on 2023-03-27

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