Coarsely tufted perennial; culms 15-100 (-200) cm high, erect or spreading, slender to stout, the vegetative shoots strongly compressed. Leaf-blades 10-45 cm long, 2-14 mm wide, folded at first, glabrous; sheaths strongly compressed and keeled; ligule 2-10 mm long, acute or lacerate. Panicle oblong to ovate, 2-30 cm long, the branches close together and spike-like or usually with the lower distant and bare at the base. Spikelets oblong or wedge-shaped, 5-9 mm long; glumes lanceolate to ovate, ciliate on the keel, finely pointed; lemma lanceolate to oblong in side view, 4-7 mm long, the keel ciliate or rough, tipped with a rigid awn up to 1.5 mm long.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: July-August.

Type: Europe (LINN).

Distribution: Pakistan (Punjab, N.W.F.P., Gilgit & Kashmir); temperate Europe and Asia; introduced into most temperate countries.

An excellent fodder grass. 1700-4000 m.

Cock’s-foot, Cockspur, Barnyard or Orchard Grass is a very variable species which, owing to its agricultural importance has been studied intensively in some parts of its range. It includes diploids (2n = 14) and tetraploids (2n = 28) which can usually be distinguished from one another by the size of their stomata and pollen-grains. In other characters there appears to be parallel variation; Many of the variants have been given specific or subspecific rank (see Domin in Acta bot. bohem. 14:3-147. 1943), but most of them do not seem to be clearly distinguish-able except by chromosome number, average characteristics of populations and behaviour in cultivation. No attempt has been made to resolve the infraspecific taxa in Pakistan and Kashmir, but the following intergrading subspecies have been distinguished:

Lower Taxa

• Dactylis glomerata subsp. glomerata
• Dactylis glomerata subsp. himalayensis Domin
• Dactylis glomerata subsp. hispanica (Roth) Nyman