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Meadow Foxtail

Meadow Foxtail

Alopecurus pratensis

Identify the Meadow Foxtail from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Very common

Alien species

Meadow Foxtail is a tall, tuft-forming grass common in pastures and meadows. It has a soft, brush-like seedhead that looks like a fox’s tail. You can see it in many open grasslands and other human‑influenced places across the temperate world.

Did you know?

  • The name “foxtail” comes from its soft, brushy seedhead.
  • It has long been grown as a hay and pasture grass, and its pollen can trigger allergies.

About the species

Identification

Tuft-forming perennial grass 50–120 cm tall. Stems upright and smooth; base not swollen. Leaves 3–8 mm wide, green, slightly shiny and faintly ridged on top, with a silky shine below; shorter than the stem. The seedhead is an upright, narrow cylinder 4–10 cm long, soft and grey-green, often breaking up easily after flowering. Key difference from timothy: meadow foxtail’s seedhead tapers at the tip and feels soft, while timothy’s is thick, equally wide and rough; timothy also has a swollen stem base. Flowers in Finland in June–July.

Plant group

Grasses, sedges and rushes

Habitat

meadow

Flowering

Jun–Jul

About the habitat

Grows in meadows, pastures, hayfields, riverbanks, roadsides, yards and other open, disturbed places. Common in southern and central Finland up to the Oulu region and Kainuu; scarce at the head of the Bothnian Bay and only occasional elsewhere in Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Olivier vandevelde, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alopecurus pratensis 12-04-2026.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40622

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40622

Text: Pinkka: Laaja maatalouslajintuntemus 4 op - Koppisiemeniset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40622

Text: Pinkka: BIO-516 Hyötykasvit - Rehukasveja, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40622

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Abies-Allium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40622

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurmipuntarp%C3%A4%C3%A4

See also