Lagurus ovatus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Poaceae
Subfamilia: Pooideae
Tribus: Aveneae
Subtribus: Aveninae
Genus: Lagurus
Species: Lagurus ovatus
Name

Lagurus ovatus L.
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 81. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Lagurus ovatus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Samtgras
Ελληνικά: Λάγουρος ο ωοειδής, βουτόμι
English: Hare's-tail
suomi: Jänönhäntä
italiano: Coda di lepre
日本語: ウサギノオ（兎の尾）, ラグラス
Nederlands: Hazenstaart
Türkçe: Tavşankuyruğu

Lagurus is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to the Mediterranean Basin and nearby regions, from Azores and the Canary Islands to Crimea and Saudi Arabia. It is also naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Great Britain, and scattered locations in the Americas.[1][2][3] The only known species is Lagurus ovatus, commonly called hare's-tail,[4] hare's-tail grass or bunnytail.[5] It is also grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive flower panicles.[6]

Description

Lagurus ovatus is a clump-forming annual growing to 50 cm (20 in) tall by 30 cm (12 in) tall, with pale green grassy foliage and numerous short, oval green flowerheads, turning to a buff colour as they ripen, all summer long.[5][7][8]
Seeds
Diagnostic features

Awns are 8–20 mm
Leaves and sheaths are softly pubescent
Panicle measure 1–7 × 0.5–2 cm
Spikelets are 7–10 mm
Stems grow erect, up to 60 cm
Chromosome number is (2n=14)

Distribution

Native to the Mediterranean and introduced into Britain, it is now thriving on sandy stretches in the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, occasionally found in Ireland and South Wales. It has become naturalized in County Wexford, Ireland, South Devon and West Sussex.[9]

This plant is known or likely to be susceptible to barley mild mosaic bymovirus.
Formerly included species

Species once considered part of Lagurus but now regarded as better suited to other genera (Cymbopogon, Imperata)

Lagurus cylindricus – Imperata cylindrica
Lagurus paniculatus – Cymbopogon nardus
Lagurus schoenanthus – Cymbopogon schoenanthus

References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Lagurus
USDA Plants Profile: Lagurus
BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
Umberto Quattrocchi (2006). CRC World Dictionary of Grasses: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press. pp. 1177–. ISBN 978-0-8493-1303-5.
Tucker, G. C. Lagurus. Archived 2010-06-26 at the Wayback Machine Grass Manual. Flora of North America.
Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
Hubbard, C. E. (1968). Grasses, A Guide to Their Structure, Identification, Uses, and Distribution in the British Isles (2nd ed.). Penguin Books. p. 476.