(Orchard Grass)
Dactylis glomerata, Ranger Lakes, State Forest State Park, Jackson Co. 1015
Dactylis glomerata, Ranger Lakes, State Forest State Park, Jackson Co. 1006
Dactylis glomerata, Ranger Lakes, State Forest State Park, Jackson Co. 1016
Dactylis glomerata, Ranger Lakes, State Forest State Park, Jackson Co. 1007
| Scientific Name | Dactylis glomerata | USDA PLANTS Symbol | DAGL |
| Common Name | Orchard Grass | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 193446 |
| Family | Poaceae (Grass) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description | Life zones and habitat: Plains to montane (4500 to 10500 ft.); moist soils in meadows and along streams, roadsides and disturbed areas. Plant: Perennial bunchgrass 8 to 55 inches tall, growing from short rhizomes, with stems erect or prostrate from the base and rising at a lower node. Foliage: Both basal and alternate leaves on the lower half of the sheath (stem), 4 to 18 inches long, up to 1/2-inch wide, mostly flat, hairless but usually rough along the edges, and light green to dark blue-green; sheaths are hairless, smooth to slightly rough and the edges are fused for at least half the sheath length; thin ligule (membrane where the leaf joins the sheath) up to ~3/8-inch long, often shredded at the tip. Inflorescence: Somewhat triangular, one-sided panicle 2 to 8 inches long, densely crowded with spikelets, each spikelet about 1/4 to 1/3 inch long with 2 to 6 florets; florets surrounded by a pair of bracts (lemma and palea), the lemma less than 1/3-inch long with a keel that is coarsely ciliate and extending to an awn about 1 mm long; each floret has 3 protruding stamens with white filaments and yellowish anthers. Bloom Period: June to September. References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield, Illinois Wildflowers, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Minnesota Wildflowers. Note: Introduced to North America from Europe as a forage crop over 200 years ago and is still used for hay and pasture today. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Colorado Status: Introduced |
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