Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh.
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Detail
- Family
- Poaceae
- Botanical Name
- Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh.
- Common Name
- Meadow Fescue
- Synonym(s)
- Schedonorus pratensis (Huds.) P. Beauv.; Festuca pratensis Huds.; Festuca elatior L. var. pratensis (Huds.) A. Gray
- Flora of Virginia Name/Status
- Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh.
- Comments
- Map incomplete at this time. This species and Lolium arundinaceum have generally been lumped (under the name "Festuca elatior") in previous Virginia studies, and many herbarium specimens identified as "Festuca elatior" or "Festuca pratense" have proven to be Lolium arundinaceum. However, L. pratense is likely to be more widely distributed than the map indicates; additional evaluation of herbarium material is needed.
The generic disposition of the species most recently treated as Schedonorus arundinaceus and S. pratensis has been controversial. Darbyshire (Novon 3, 1993) took genetic similarities from isozymes, chromosome banding/caryotyping, and other studies into account in lumping New World elements of the Schedonorus complex into Lolium, but Soreng and Terrell (Phytologia 83, 1997) considered that premature and assigned them to Schedonorus. Since then, data have accumulated suggesting that maintaining Schedonorus and Lolium as separate genera is untenable (R. Soreng, pers. comm.). Molecular studies by Catalan, Peterson, and Soreng (J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 3, 2009) demonstrate that Schedonorus is not a monophyletic genus and is best combined with Lolium. - Habitat
- Fields, pastures, meadows, and roadsides; apparently much less common than Lolium arundinaceum. But see Comments above.
- Native Status
- Introduced
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