Dactylis glomerata is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, known as cock's-foot,[2] also colloquially as orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its popularity for use with domestic cats). It is a cool-season perennial C3tufted grass native throughout most of Europe, temperate Asia, and northern Africa.[3][2][4][5][6]
Distribution
Dactylis glomerata occurs from sea level in the north of its range, to as high as 4,000 metres in elevation in the south of its range in Pakistan.[7] It is widely used for hay and forage.[6]
One of the keys to distinguishing this species from other grasses are its flat stems
Description
Cock's-foot grows in dense perennial tussocks to 20–140 centimetres (7.9–55.1 in; 0.66–4.59 ft) tall, with grey-green leaves 20–50 centimetres (7.9–19.7 in; 0.66–1.64 ft) long and up to 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) broad, and a distinctive tufted triangular flowerhead 10–50 centimetres (3.9–19.7 in; 0.33–1.64 ft) long, which may be either green or red- to purple-tinged (usually green in shade, redder in full sun), turning pale grey-brown at seed maturity. The spikelets are 5–9 millimetres (0.20–0.35 in) long, typically containing two to five flowers. It has a characteristic flattened stem base which distinguishes it from many other grasses.[2][6]
Dactylis glomerata is treated as the sole species in the genus Dactylis by some authors,[3][4] while others include one to four other species.[11][12] It is commonly divided into several regional subspecies, particularly by those authors accepting only the single species.[3][7][11]Plants of the World Online accepts 20 subspecies.[1]
Dactylis glomerata subsp. glomerata (synonyms subsp. altaica and subsp. himalayensis) – widespread; described from Europe
Dactylis glomerata subsp. hackelii(Asch. & Graebn.) Cif. & Giacom. (syns. subsp. marina, D. marinaBorrill, and D. maritima(Hack.) Rivas Mart.) – Mediterranean and Madeira
Dactylis glomerata subsp. hispanica(Roth) Nyman (syn. D. hispanicaRoth) – Mediterranean and western Asia to Afghanistan
Dactylis glomerata subsp. hyrcanaTzvelev (syn. D. hyrcana) – eastern Transcaucasus
Dactylis glomerata nothosubsp. intercedens(Domin) Acedo (D. glomerata subsp. glomerata × D. glomerata; syns. subsp. lobata and D. × intercedensDomin) – Germany and Czechoslovakia
Dactylis glomerata subsp. izcoiS.Ortiz & Rodr.Oubiña (syn. D. izcoiHorjales, Laso & Redondo) – Portugal and western Spain
Dactylis glomerata subsp. judaicaStebbins & D.Zohary – Israel
Dactylis glomerata subsp. juncinella(Bory) Stebbins & D.Zohary (syn. D. juncinellaBory – southern Spain (Sierra Nevada) and Morocco
Dactylis glomerata subsp. lobata(Drejer) H.Lindb. (syns. D. lobata(Drejer) Ostenf., subsp. aschersoniana, D. aschersonianaGraebn., D. polygamaHorv., and D. scabraW.Mann ex Opiz) – western and central Europe to the Caucasus
Dactylis glomerata subsp. lusitanicaStebbins & D.Zohary – northwestern Spain to central Portugal
Dactylis glomerata subsp. glomerata and subsp. hispanica are tetraploid forms with 28 chromosomes; some of the other subspecies, including subsp. himalayensis and subsp. lobata are diploid, with 2n = 14. Hexaploid forms with 42 chromosomes are also known, but rare.[4][13] Tetraploid forms are larger and coarser than diploid forms.[13]
Cultivation and uses
Cock's-foot is widely used as a hay grass and for pastures because of its high yields and sugar content, which makes it sweeter than most other temperate grasses. In dry areas as in much of Australia, Mediterranean subspecies such as subsp. hispanica are preferred for their greater drought tolerance.[14] It requires careful grazing management; if it is undergrazed it becomes coarse and unpalatable.
In some areas to which it has been introduced, cock's-foot has become an invasive weed, notably some areas of the eastern United States.[11]
The grass is popularly grown to satisfy the craving of domestic cats to chew grass, hence its colloquial name cat grass.[15]
The seeds were first collected by Rogers Parker in Hertfordshire; this was then developed by the agricultural reformer Coke of Norfolk.[16] Parker's estate, Munden, near Bricket Wood, was inherited by the botanist George Hibbert.[17]
Butterfly foodplant
The caterpillars of many butterfly species feed on cock's foot, including:[18]
^Baxter (1830). The Library of Agricultural and Horticultural Knowledge: With an Appendix on Suspended Animation, Poisons, and the Principal Laws Relating to Farming and Rural Affairs. pp. 228–229, 523.
^Hall; et al. Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Colonial Slavery and the Formation of Victorian Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 221.
