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Phleum pratense L.

Overview
General Information
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Aperçu
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Family :

Famille :

Poaceae

Synonym(s) :

Synonyme(s) :

Phleum pratense L. subsp. pratense (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024).
Phleum pratense L. var. pratense (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024).
Phleum nodosum L. (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024).
Phleum pratense subsp. nodosum (L.) Dumin (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024).
Phleum pratense L. var. nodosum (L.) Schreb. (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024).

Common Name(s) :

Nom(s) commun(s) :

Timothy

(English) (Wiersema and León 1999; AOSA 2024; USDA-AMS 2024a; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024; USDA-NRCS 2024)
Common cat’s-tail (English) (CABI 2024)
Meadow cat’s-tail (English) (Wiersema and León 1999)
Herd grass (English) (Ogle et al. 2011)
Fléole des près (French) (Wiersema and León 1999; CABI 2024)
Timothée (French) (CABI 2024)
Coda di topo (Italian) (ISTA 1982; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)
Fleolo (Italian) (ISTA 1982; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)
Codolina (Italian) (CABI 2024)
Fleolo (Italian) (CABI 2024)
Fleolodei prati (Italian) (CABI 2024)
Timotheegras (German) (Wiersema and León 1999)
Wiesenlieschgras (German) (Wiersema and León 1999)
ō-awagaeri (Japanese Rōmaji) (Wiersema and León 1999)
Ooawagaeri (Japanese Rōmaji) (CABI 2024)
Capim-timóteo (Portuguese) (Wiersema and León 1999)
Rabo-de-gato (Portuguese) (Wiersema and León 1999)
Cola de gato (Spanish) (CABI 2024)
Cola de rato (Spanish) (CABI 2024)
Cola de topo (Spanish) (Wiersema and León 1999)
Fleo do los prados (Spanish) (CABI 2024)
Fleo pratense (Spanish) (CABI 2024)
Timoti (Spanish) (Wiersema and León 1999)
Timotej (Swedish) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)
Ti mu cao (transcribed Chinese) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)
Keunjoajaebi (transcribed Korean) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)
Timosi (transcribed Korean) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)

Phleum pratense (timothy) caryopsis and florets in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Phleum pratense (timothy) caryopsis and florets in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Phleum pratense florets, lateral view

  • Phleum pratense (timothy) floret in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Phleum pratense (timothy) floret in lemma view. Scale in mm.

  • Phleum pratense floret, lateral view

  • Phleum pratense (timothy) glumes in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Phleum pratense (timothy) caryopsis in lateral view. Scale in mm.

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Overview

Aperçu

Regulation :

Remarques Réglementation:

  • USA Federal Noxious Weed Seed List

Regulation Notes:

Classified as a noxious weed seed or undesirable grass species when found as a contaminant in grass seed marketed for lawn or turf purposes in certain US states (Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) (USDA-AMS 2024b).

Distribution :

Répartition :

Phleum pratense is native to most parts of Europe, Northern Africa, Temperate Asia, and Tropical Asia (India and Pakistan), is naturalized in Mauritius, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Greenland, the United States (all 50 states), the West Indies, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, and is cultivated in many regions of the world (CABI 2024; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024; USDA-NCRS 2024).

Habitat and Crop Association :

Habitat et Cultures Associées :

In its native range Phleum pratense is usually confined to moist soils of wet meadows and low-lying grasslands (CABI 2024). It does best on waterlogged and peat soils, but can also grow well on clay, silty, sandy, or loamy soils provided adequate moisture and soil pH of 4.5 to 7.8 (Yoder 2004; Ogle et al. 2011).  Phleum pratense is intolerant of saline or alkaline conditions, drought, or prolonged high temperatures (Alderson and Sharp 1995; Yoder 2004; Ogle et al. 2011).

Outside its native range, P. pratense has become common along field margins, roadsides, and waste places (CABI 2024). In the United States it can be found growing in canals, roadside ditches, meadows, and other mesic environments (Ogle et al. 2011). In Australia it has spread into native vegetation invading and posing a significant threat to dry coastal vegetation, dry sclerophyll woodlands, and forests (CABI 2024). While in Japan it has invaded crop fields, farms, grasslands, streams, urban areas, waterfronts, and vacant land (CABI 2024).

Economic Use, cultivation area, and Weed Association :

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

The main economic use of Phleum pratense is for livestock feed and is often commonly grown in mixed stands with legumes, such as Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa), Lotus corniculatus L. (birdsfoot trefoil), and Trifolium L. spp. (clovers), and is used for hay, silage, or pasture (Ogle et al. 2011).

Phleum pratense is also used for erosion control in forests that have been cut or burned, and combined in seed mixtures with legumes and other grasses for use as wildlife cover, nesting, and brood rearing areas or other land management applications (Ogle et al. 2011).

Weedy grass species are difficult to eliminate from seed production fields since P. pratense seedlings are weak competitors and sensitive to most grass-specific herbicides (Yoder 2004). In Canada for example, field establishment can be inhibited by weeds like Elymus repens (L.) Gould (quackgrass), Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (Canada thistle), Taraxacum F. H. Wigg. spp. (dandelion), and Sonchus arvensis L. (perennial sowthistle) (GM n.d.; Yoder 2004).

Weed seed contaminants in P. pratense seed lots can be difficult to clean out and can affect the quality and marketability of seed lots. Some reported weed seed contaminants include Amaranthus retroflexus L. (redroot pigweed), Brassica L. spp. (weedy mustards), Cerastium L. spp. and Stellaria L. spp. (chickweeds), Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle), Crepis tectorum L. (narrowleaf hawksbeard), Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv. (barnyardgrass), Galium aparine L. (cleavers), Leucanthemum vulgare Lam. (ox-eye daisy), Linaria Mill. spp. (toadflax), Setaria viridis (L.) P.Beauv. (green foxtail), Silene latifolia Poir. (white cockle), Silene noctiflora L. (night-flowering catchfly), Spergula arvensis L. (corn spurry), Thlaspi arvense L. (stinkweed), Trifolium spp. (clovers), and Tripleurospermum inodorum (L.) Sch.Bip. (scentless chamomile) (Yoder 2004).

Duration of Life Cycle :

Durée du cycle vital:

Perennial

Dispersal Unit Type :

Type d’unité de dispersion :

Floret or Caryopsis

General Information

RENSEIGNEMENTS GÉNÉRAUX

Phleum pratense is an important forage grass that has been widely introduced worldwide, especially in cool temperate regions of the world (CABI 2024). In pasture, it is most palatable to horses, cattle, and other livestock early in the growing season and is only moderately palatable post seed-head development (Ogle et al. 2011). Timothy hay is a premium quality feed for horses (Ogle et al. 2011).

Phleum pratense is a short-lived, cool-season, winter hardy, perennial bunchgrass with a shallow fibrous root system (Alderson and Sharp 1995; Yoder 2004; Ogle et al. 2011).The spread of P. pratense beyond cultivation, revegetation, or erosion control is problematic in many regions (CABI 2024). It is classified as noxious in several US states when found as a seed lot contaminant (USDA-AMS 2024b). P. pratense invasion is a major problem in several national and state parks in the United States (CABI 2024), for example, altering the understory vegetation of Populus tremuloides (aspen) stands in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (Houston 1973) and native forb and fescue vegetation in Glacier National Park, Montana (Tyser 1992). In Australia it has been classed as an environmental weed in Victoria and other temperate regions of southern Australia (CABI 2024).

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Identification

Identification

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  • Spikelet

    Size

    • Spikelet length 2 – 5.5 mm (Tutin et al. 1980).

    Shape

    • The spikelet is strongly compressed laterally and U-shaped in lateral view.

    Surface Texture

    • Glumes surface texture is papery.
    • Glumes are 3-nerved (Barkworth et al. 2007).
    • Glume keels with a row of long, stiff comb-like hairs.

    Colour

    • Glumes light whitish-yellow green with darker green tinge along the keel.

    Other Features

    Spikelet composition

    • The spikelet contains a single floret.

    Glumes

    • Glumes completed enclosing the floret prior to disarticulation.
    • Glumes are folded in half lengthwise and strongly keeled, about equal in length (3 – 4 mm long), and with blunt tips (Barkworth et al. 2007).
    • Both glumes are awned from the tip of the glume, awns 1.0 – 1.5 (2) mm long (Barkworth et al. 2007).

    Spikelet Disarticulation

    • Spikelet disarticulation occurs above glumes, glumes usually remain attached to the plant.

    Phleum pratense (timothy) glumes in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Floret

    Size

    • Floret length*: 1.4 – 2.0 mm (average 1.7 mm); width*: 0.6 – 0.9 mm (average 0.8 mm).
    *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 florets in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020). CDA-S-24736.
    • Floret size measurements from the literature:
      • Lemma length (1.2) 1.7 – 2.0 mm (Barkworth et al. 2007).
      • Floret length 1.7 – 2.2 mm; width 0.7 – 0.9 mm (Bojňanský and Fargašová 2007).

    Shape

    • Floret shape oval to egg-shaped, not compressed (circular in cross-section).

    Surface Texture

    • Floret texture thin papery, translucent.

    Colour

    • Floret pale whitish yellow coloured.

    Other Features

    Lemma

    • Lemma not keeled; nerves 5 – 7; covered with soft, short hairs.

    Awn

    • Lemma awn none.

    Callus

    • Callus blunt.

    Rachilla

    • Usually not extended beyond base of the floret (Barkworth et al. 2007).

    Palea

    • Palea about equal to lemma length, with two closely spaced longitudinal nerves.

    Phleum pratense (timothy) caryopsis and florets in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Caryopsis

    Size

    • Caryopsis length*: 1.0 – 1.6 mm (average 1.3 mm); width*: 0.5 – 0.7 mm (average 0.6 mm).
    *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 caryopses in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020). CDA-S-24736.
    • Caryopsis measurements from the literature:
      • Caryopsis length 1.4 – 1.6 mm, width 0.6 – 0.7 mm (Bojňanský and Fargašová 2007).

    Shape

    • Caryopsis shape oval to egg-shaped, round in cross-section; style base usually evident as a rounded knob at the tip of the caryopsis.

    Surface Texture

    • Caryopsis surface texture reticulate.

    Colour

    • Caryopsis light yellowish-brown coloured, dull.

    Other Features

    • Hilum is a dark oval spot near the base of the caryopsis on the side opposite the embryo.

    Phleum pratense (timothy) caryopsis in lateral view. Scale in mm.

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  • Embryo

    Size

    • Embryo length*: 0.4 – 0.7 mm (average 0.6 mm).
    • Embryo about one-third the length of the caryopsis.
    *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 embryos in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020). CDA-S- 24736.

    Shape

    • Embryo narrowly oval shaped.

    Endosperm

    • Endosperm solid (Terrell 1971).

    Other Features

    • Embryo in a lateral position (Martin 1946).

    Phleum pratense (timothy) caryopsis in lateral view. Scale in mm.

Identification Tips

CONSEILS POUR L’IDENTIFICATION

In Phleum pratense the lemma and palea are very delicate and often the caryopsis will fall out of the floret. The caryopsis of P. pratense and other similar species of Phleum have a distinctive reticulate surface unlike the caryopses of other small-seeded grasses like Poa annua or Poa pratensis.

Florets of P. pratense and similar species P. alpinum and P. nodosum can be difficult to reliably separate and generally depend on the length of the palea in relation to the length of the lemma and on the location of tiny surface hairs on the lemma. These structures can be easily damaged during seed conditioning and rendered unusable for diagnostic purposes. The more reliable characters for species identification are the glumes, which unfortunately rarely fall off the plant with the floret.

The plants of P. pratense subsp. pratense are polyploid and have obtuse ligules, while plants of P. nodosum (considered as P. pratense subsp. bertolonii by Tutin et al. 1980 and Barkworth et al. 2007) are diploid and have acute ligules.

Phleum pratense (timothy) floret in lateral view. Scale in mm.

Additional Botany Information

AUTRES RENSEIGNEMENTS BOTANIQUES

Flowers/Inflorescence

  • The inflorescence is a dense spike-like panicle, cylindrical in shape and narrowing only slightly near the tip, 5 – 20 times as long as wide, 5 – 20 cm or more long, but only 5 – 7.5(10) mm wide (Barkworth et al. 2007; Ogle et al. 2011).

Vegetative Features

  • The plants are loose to densely tufted, stems are erect, 50 – 150 cm tall; the lower internodes of the stems are usually enlarged and bulb-like (referred to in literature as a haplacorm); the roots are fibrous; the leaf blades are up to 45 cm long, 4 – 10 mm wide, and flat (Barkworth et al. 2007; Ogle et al. 2011; CABI 2024)

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.

Phleum alpinum L., alpine timothy

In P. alpinum the panicle is nearly globe shaped to broadly cylindrical (1.5 – 3 times as long as wide), while in P. pratense the panicle is long, narrow, and cylindrical (5 – 20 times as long as wide); spikelets of P. alpinum are 5.5 – 8.5 mm long and those of P. pratense are 2 – 5.5 mm long; the glumes of P. alpinum can be up to 4.5 mm long, the glume tips are slightly angled, the keels have long, widely spaced hairs, and the glume awns are usually longer than 2 mm, while in P. pratense the glumes are slightly shorter (up to 4 mm long), the glume tips are blunt, the keels have long, thick, comb-like hairs, and the glume awns are usually 2 mm or less in length.

Florets of P. alpinum are 1.7 – 2.5 mm long, the lemma is mostly glabrous but minutely hairy on nerves, and the palea is slightly shorter than the lemma, while in P. pratense the floret is shorter (1.4 – 2.0 mm), the lemma can be covered with short hairs on the nerves and between the nerves, and the palea is about equal in length to the lemma (Tutin et al. 1980; Barkworth et al. 2007).

 

Phleum bertolonii DC. [ P. pratense subsp. bertolonii (DC.) Bornm.] (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)

small timothy, smaller cat’s-tail, turf timothy (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2024)

In P. nodosum the panicle is slightly shorter and narrower than in P. pratense (Tutin et al. 1980; Barkworth et al. 2007). The glume awn is slightly shorter in P. nodosum (0.2 – 1.2 mm) than in P. pratense (1 – 2 mm) (Tutin et al. 1980). Olesen (1974) provides the following diagnostic characters for the florets and caryopses: the lemma of P. nodosum is generally shorter than or equal to the caryopsis length and has a few scattered fine hairs between the nerves, the 1000 seed weight of the caryopses is 0.22 – 0.28 g; whereas the lemma of P. pratense is generally longer than the caryopsis and has many coarse hairs between the nerves, the 1000 seed weight of the caryopses is 0.26 – 0.54 g.

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Reference(s)

Référence(s)

Alderson, J. & W. C. Sharp. 1995. Grass varieties in the United States, U.S.D.A. Agric. Handbook 170, rev. ed. CRC Press.

Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA).  2023.  Rules for Testing Seeds, Vol. 3: Uniform Classification of Weed and Crop Seeds.  Association of Official Seed Analysts, Wichita, KS, USA.

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

Bojňanský, V. and Fargašová, A. 2007. Atlas of Seeds and Fruits of Central and East-European Flora: The Carpathian Mountains Region. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Center for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI). 2023. Phleum pratense (Timothy grass) – Datasheet. CABI Invasive Compendium. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/40248.  Accessed November 3, 2024.

Government of Manitoba (GM). n.d. Timothy Seed Production. Forages. Government of Manitoba Agriculture. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/crop-management/forages/timothy-seed-production.html  Accessed December 5, 2023

Houston D. B. 1973. Wildfires in Northern Yellowstone National Park. Ecology 54(5):1112-1117.

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. F. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. The American Midland Naturalist 36(3):513-660.

Ogle, D. G., St. John, L. & Tilley, D. J. 2011. Plant guide for timothy (Phleum pratense). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Idaho State Office. Boise, ID. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/idpmspg9392.pdf.

Olesen, M. 1974. Identification of seeds of Phleum pratense L. and P. bertolonii DC. (P. nodosum L.) on the basis of morphological differences. Seed Sci. Technol. 2:194-197.

Terrell, E. E. 1971. Survey of occurrences of liquid or soft endosperm in grass genera. Bull. Torr. Botan. Club 98(5):264-268.

Tutin, T. G., Haywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Waters, S. M., Webb, D. A. (Eds.). 1980. Flora Europaea. Volume 5: Alismataceae to Orchidaceae (Monocotyledons). Cambridge University Press.

Tyser R. W. 1992. Vegetation associated with two alien plant species in a fescue grassland in Glacier National Park, Montana. Great Basin Naturalist 52(2):189-193.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS). 2023a. Federal Seed Act Regulations. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-K/part-201  Accessed December 5, 2023.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS). 2023b. 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 December 5, 2023.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service-National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-ARS-NPGS). 2023. USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. http://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=28019.  Access date: December 4, 2023.

United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS). 2023. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA. http://plants.usda.gov  Accessed December 4, 2023.

Wiersema, J. H. and León, B. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Yoder, C. 2004. Timothy Seed Production in Western Canada. Agdex 127/15-2. AGRI-FACTS. Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. (June 2004 issue). https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/f5e50033-fcef-4d0b-b828-5ef7143b887f/resource/6df82b23-14ca-47ee-99be-ea7008db4401/download/2004-127-15-2.pdf  Accessed December 5, 2023.

Author(s)

AUTEUR(S)

Deborah J. Lionakis Meyer, California Department of Food and Agriculture, retired and Krishan Shah, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank reviewers Jennifer Neudorf and Angela Salzl for their suggestions for fact sheet improvement.

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Last updated
on 2023-03-27

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