Appearance
Phleum pratense is a perennial bunchgrass, growing 2-3.5 ft. (0.61-1.1 m) tall, with a swollen or bulblike base, without rhizomes. It starts growth in early spring.

Foliage
Glabrous, distinctly veined on blade and sheath; blades flat to somewhat keeled, 4-8 in. (10.2-20.3 cm) long, up to 0.38 in. (0.95 cm) wide, tapering toward the tip, with midrib prominent on upper surface; leaves rolled in buds.

Flowers
The flowers occur from May to August. White little petals appears and the flower head is 2.8-5.9 in. (7-15 cm) long.

Fruit
The seeds are dense, cylindrical, symmetrical spike-like panicle, 2-5 in. (5-12.7 cm) long. The seeds have little hairs on them.

Ecological Threat
Phleum pratense will over take roadsides and abandoned fields but it requires larges amounts of nutrients from the soil.

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• City of Ann Arbor Michigan Parks and Recreation
• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• John Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Survey of TNC Preserves, 1995.
• Maryland Code and Regulations Noxious Weed & Seed Law
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• Native Plant Society of Oregon, 2008
• Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
• Virginia Invasive Plant Species List
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999

References