Annual Canarygrass

An introduced grass from the western Mediterranean region.

This species is widely cultivated for bird seed (Canary Grass) and is adventive in most warm-temperate countries.

Canary Grass is used in mixtures of seed for cage-birds and therefore often occurs as a casual and may even establish itself. There are no modern records for Pakistan, but no doubt the plant is still to be found.

Annual, glabrous.Culms loosely tufted, 30-120 cm tall, glabrous. Blades 10-30 cm long, 0.5-1.2 cm wide, glabrous. Sheath cylindrical, mostly shorter than the internode; ligule acute, 3-8 mm long. Panicle long ellipsoidal to conical, 1.5-6 cm long. Spikelets obovate, 3-flowered, extremely compressed, 6-9 mm long; glumes subequal, as long as the spikelet, 3-nerved,apex abruptly contracted, folded, keel sharp, broadly winged. Fetile lemma 5 mm long, pubescent; palea oblong, 2-nerved. Sterile lemma half as long as the fertile lemma.

Annual, loosely tufted. Culms 30–60(–100) cm tall. Uppermost leaf sheaths inflated with short blade; leaf blades 3–10 mm wide; ligule 3–5 mm. Panicle spikelike, very dense, ovate to oblong-ovate in outline, 1.5–4 cm. Spikelets obovate, strongly flattened, 7–10 mm; glumes oblanceolate, glabrous or puberulent, whitish with green veins, keel broadly winged above middle, wing margin entire, apex acute; sterile lemmas 2, equal, narrowly elliptic, chaffy, 2.5–4 mm, appressed-pilose; fertile lemma lanceolate, 5–6 mm, densely appressed-pubescent, shiny. Anthers 3–4 mm. Fl. and fr. Oct.

Annual. Culms 30-100 cm high. Panicle 1.5-4 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide, ovate to oblong-ovate. Glumes 7-10 mm long, acute, pale green with darker green longitudinal stripes, broadly winged; sterile florets 2, broad and somewhat chaffy. 2.5-4.5 mm long, sparsely pubescent; fertile floret acute, 4.8-6.8 mm long. densely appressed-pubescent.

Hebei, Shanghai, Taiwan [W Mediterranean region, SW Asia (Caucasus)].

Distribution: Pakistan (Baluchistan; introduced); a native of the Mediterranean region; widely introduced elsewhere.

Roadsides and other disturbed places, introduced; below 3000 m.