Lagurus ovatus explained

Lagurus is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to the Mediterranean Basin and nearby regions, from Madeira and the Canary Islands to Crimea and Saudi Arabia. It is also naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, the Azores, 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, hare's-tail grass or bunnytail.[4] It is also grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive flower panicles.[5]

Description

Lagurus ovatus is a clump-forming annual growing to 50cm (20inches) tall by 30cm (10inches) tall, with pale green grassy foliage and numerous short, oval green flowerheads, turning to a buff colour as they ripen, all summer long.[6] [7]

Diagnostic features

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.[8]

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)

Notes and References

  1. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=421920 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=Lagurus Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Lagurus
  3. http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=LAGUR&display=63 USDA Plants Profile: Lagurus
  4. Book: RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. 2008. Dorling Kindersley. United Kingdom. 978-1405332965. 1136.
  5. Book: Umberto Quattrocchi . CRC World Dictionary of Grasses: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology . 2006 . CRC Press . 978-0-8493-1303-5 . 1177–.
  6. Tucker, G. C. Lagurus. Grass Manual. Flora of North America.
  7. Book: Pink, A. . Gardening for the Million. 2004 . Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
  8. Book: Charles Edward Hubbard

    . Hubbard, C. E. . Charles Edward Hubbard . 1968 . Grasses, A Guide to Their Structure, Identification, Uses, and Distribution in the British Isles . 2nd . 476 . Penguin Books.