''Dactylis'' is a genus of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

n and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n plants in the bluegrass subfamily within the

grass family Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...

. ''Dactylis'' is native to North Africa, they are found throughout the world, and are an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

. They are known in English as cock's-foot or cocksfoot grasses, also sometimes as orchard grasses.

Taxonomy

The genus has been treated as containing only a single species ''

Dactylis glomerata ''Dactylis glomerata'' is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, known as cock's-foot,Interactive Flora of NW Europ''Dactylis glomerata'' (Cock's-foot)/ref> also colloquially as orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its populari ...

'' by many authors, treating variation in the genus at only subspecific rank within ''D. glomerata'',Flora Europaea
''Dactylis glomerata''
Flora of China Town
''Dactylis''
/ref> but more recently, there has been a trend to accept two species,Germplasm Resources Information Network
Species Records of ''Dactylis''''Dactylis glomerata''.
/ref> while some authors accept even more species in the genus, particularly

island endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

species in

Macaronesia Macaronesia (; ) is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of list of islands in the Atlantic Oc ...

.Schönfelder, P., & Ludwig, D. (1996). Dactylis metlesicsii (Poaceae), eine neue Art der Gebirgsvegetation von Tenerife, Kanarische Inseln. ''Willdenowia'' 26 (1–2): 217–223
Full text

Accepted species

Two species are currently accepted.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> * ''

'' L. -

and

; naturalized in southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, and various oceanic islands * ''

Dactylis smithii ''Dactylis'' is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the bluegrass subfamily within the grass family. ''Dactylis'' is native to North Africa, they are found throughout the world, and are an invasive species. They are known in Englis ...

'' Link -

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

Formerly included

Many species now considered better suited to other genera: '' Aeluropus,

Ammochloa ''Ammochloa'' is a genus of Mediterranean plants in the grass family, Poaceae. ; Species * '' Ammochloa involucrata'' Murb. - Morocco * '' Ammochloa palaestina'' Boiss. - Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, ...

Cutandia ''Cutandia'' is a genus of Asian and Mediterranean plant in the grass family. It grows from Portugal and Cape Verde to Pakistan and Kazakhstan. ; Species * '' Cutandia dichotoma'' (Forssk.) Trab. - Asia + Africa from Algeria to Iran * '' Cutand ...

Desmostachya ''Desmostachya'' is a genus of grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to Africa and Asia. Taxonomy The genus ''Desmostachya'' was originally published as ''Eragrostis'' sect. ''Desmostachya'' in ''The Flora of British India'' 7: 324. 1897. So ...

Dinebra ''Dinebra'' is a genus of Asian, African, and Pacific Island plants in the grass family. ; Species * '' Dinebra haareri'' (Stapf & C.E.Hubb.) P.M.Peterson & N.Snow - Kenya, Tanzania * '' Dinebra marquisensis'' (F.Br.) P.M.Peterson & N.Snow - ...

Elytrophorus ''Elytrophorus'' is a genus of Asian, African, and Australian plants in the grass family.Eragrostis ''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. ''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is de ...

Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ...

Koeleria ''Koeleria'' is a common and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found on all continents except Antarctica and on various oceanic islands. It includes species known generally as Junegrasses. The genus was named after German botanis ...

, Odyssea,

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of Poaceae, grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand spe ...

Rostraria ''Rostraria'' is a genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, native primarily to Eurasia and North Africa with one species native to South America. Hairgrass is a common name. These grasses are sometimes included in genus ''Koeleria''. ; Sp ...

Schismus ''Schismus'' is a genus of African and Eurasian plants in the Poaceae, grass family. Two species are naturalized in North America, where they are known as Mediterranean grass. ; Species * ''Schismus arabicus'' - Greece, North Africa, East Africa ...

Spartina ''Spartina'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Species in this genus are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Eu ...

, Tribolium, Trisetaria,'' and '' Wangenheimia''. * ''Dactylis fasciculata'' Lam. - now ''

Spartina alterniflora ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...

'' * ''Dactylis maritima'' Walter - now ''

Description

''Dactylis'' species are perennial grasses, forming dense tussocks growing to 15–140 centimetres tall, with

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

20–50 cm long and up to 1.5 cm broad, and distinctive tufted triangular

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

heads comprising a

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

10–15 cm long, turning pale grey-brown at seed maturity. The spikelets are 5–9 mm long, typically containing two to five flowers. The stems have a flattened base, which distinguishes them from many other grasses.Interactive Flora of NW Europ
''Dactylis glomerata'' (Cock's-foot)
/ref>

Ecology

''Dactylis'' is most commonly known as orchard grass. Orchard grasses are suited for habitats like waste lands and

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

s. These grasses are able to grow in dry and mildly wet areas. They are a food source for many species of insects and birds. The insect and animals consume the grass's seeds, leaves, and roots. ''Dactylis'', orchard grass, supports meadow ecosystems by feeding many insects and birds that dominate the areas; these species include: beetles, grasshoppers, larvae, caterpillars, sparrows, and horned larks. Snakes, small mammals, and insects also use orchard grass as a means of shelter and stealth through grass lands.

Cytology

The taxa show several different levels of

polyploidy Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

. The taxa show three levels of polyploidy, including tetraploid, diploid, and hexaploidy. ''Dactylis glomerata'' subsp. ''glomerata'' and ''D. glomerata'' subsp. ''hispanica'' are tetraploid forms with 28 chromosomes. Several of the other taxa, including ''D. glomerata''. subsp. ''himalayensis'' (syn. ''D. himalayensis''), ''D. glomerata'' subsp. ''lobata'' (syn. ''D. polygama''), ''D. metlesicsii'', and some forms of ''D. smithii'', are diploid with 2''n'' = 14; hexaploids with 42 chromosomes also occur rarely.Míka, V., Kohoutek, A., & Odstrèilová, V. (2002). Characteristics of important diploid and tetraploid subspecies of ''Dactylis'' from point of view of the forage crop production. ''Rostlinná Výroba'' 48 (6): 243–248
Full text
''Dactylis'' are reproductively able to produce natural triploid and pentaploid. This occurs in habitats of large populations of diploid and tetraploid ''Dactylis'' showing one way

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as migration and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic variation, genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent ...

References

{{Authority control Pooideae Poaceae genera Bunchgrasses of Africa Bunchgrasses of Asia Bunchgrasses of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa described in 1753