Lolium perenne L.
Perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, ray grass
This grass is native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, but has long been cultivated and naturalized around the world.
Plants: Low-growing tufts are up to 3′ (90 cm) tall.
Leaves: Dark green, smooth, with smooth edges. Leaf undersides are glossy, and upper surfaces have several parallel veins. Leaf blades are 1/32–⅛″ (1–6 mm) wide. Basal leaf sheafs are usually tinged pink, and hairy.
Flowers: Erect, leafless flower spikes consist of neatly alternate spikelets, angled so that the flattish spikelets lie in the same plane. Each spikelet has a single glume on the side opposite to the stem. The spikelet is ⅛–¾″ (5–22 mm) long, and has 4-14 florets, which lack awns.
Fruits: A single pound of ryegrass produces about 230,000 seeds.
Habitats: Cultivated for fodder and grazing, as well as a stabilizing agent against erosion, it has naturalized and spread. It is found on roadsides, trackways, footpaths, wastelands, river banks and sand dunes. It thrives in full sun.
Online References:
7/7/2026 · Butler Head Preserve, Bath, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
7/7/2026 · Butler Head Preserve, Bath, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
6/30/2025 · Buck's Ledge Community Forest, Bethel, Maine · ≈ 8 × 13″ (21 × 32 cm) 
6/30/2025 · Buck's Ledge Community Forest, Bethel, Maine · ≈ 8 × 13″ (21 × 32 cm) 
6/30/2025 · Buck's Ledge Community Forest, Bethel, Maine · ≈ 11 × 17″ (28 × 42 cm) 
6/21/2025 · Hawk Mountain, Waterford, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 23 cm) 
6/21/2025 · Hawk Mountain, Waterford, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm) 
6/21/2025 · Hawk Mountain, Waterford, Maine · ≈ 6 × 8″ (16 × 19 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 | Lolium | Classical common name for ryegrass |
| Species | perenne | Perennial |
Lolium perenne description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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