Alopecurus pratensis L.
Field meadow-foxtail, meadow foxtail
Although common in North America due to its use for pasturage, meadow foxtail is native to Europe and Asia.
Plants: Reaches 3½′ (1.1 m) in height, on erect, hairless stems.
Leaves: Basal and alternate, linear, 2–16 ⨉ ⅛″ (5–40 cm ⨉ 5 mm).
Flowers: Cylindricial glumes (flowerheads) are ⅛–⅜″ (5–10 mm) in diameter and 1–4″ (2.5–10 cm) long. Individual spikelets are ⅛–3/16″ (4–6 mm) long. Florets bloom from the top down. up to From April to June.
Fruits: Spikelets become blackish at maturity. Seeds are ~1/32″ (1–1.2 mm) long.
Habitats: Moist rich soils.
Online References:
5/30/2025 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 5 × 4″ (12 × 11 cm) 
8/22/2023 · Schiller Coastal Studies Center, Orr’s Island, Maine · ≈ 3 × 5″ (7.6 × 12 cm) 
5/30/2025 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 6 × 5″ (16 × 13 cm) 
5/24/2024 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
5/28/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area 
4/24/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 3½″ (6.6 × 9.8 cm) 
4/27/2023 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine 
5/21/2021 · Skolfield Shores Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 2 × 3½″ (6 × 9.7 cm) 
4/30/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 3½″ (7.9 × 9.7 cm) 
4/24/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 3½″ (6.6 × 9.8 cm) 
4/30/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 4″ (7.9 × 10 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Commelinidae | Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others |
| Order | Cyperales | Flowering plants including grasses |
| Family | Poaceae | Grasses (but not sedges or rushes) |
| Genus | Alopecurus | From the Greek alopekouros, meaning a grass like a fox’s tail, in turn from alopex, “fox,” and oura, “a tail,” from the paniculate form of the spike (ref. genus Alopecurus) |
| Species | pratensis | Growing in meadows |
Alopecurus pratensis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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