Perennial Ryegrass

This species is extensively cultivated in temperate regions of the world as an excellent forage and lawn grass. It is a variable species, with many cultivars (Perennial Rye Grass).

Perennial Rye-Grass freely hybridizes with other species of Lolium and occasionally with species of Festuca. It is extremely variable, especially in the structure of the inflorescence which may be loosely branched or shortened and much congested. It is extensively cultivated as a lawn, forage or soil-binding grass.

1600-2800 m.

Culm 25-50 cm tall, slender, 1-1.5 mm in diameter. Blades linear, 10-15 cm long, 2-5 mm wide; ligule membranous, tongue-shaped, 1.5-2 mm long; auricles conspicuous. Spike up to 15 cm long. Spikelets 2-10-flowered, rarely up to 14-flowered; up to 10 mm long; lower glume absent; upper glume subcoriaceous, narrowly lanceolate, 8 mm long, 5-nerved; lemmas subequal, usually awnless, chartaceous, broadly lanceolate, 5-nerved, as long as the floret, the lowest 7 mm long; palea oblong, as long as the lemma, 2-keeled, minutely ciliate along keels, apex sinus; anther 3 mm long.

Perennial, turf-forming. Culms tufted, erect or spreading, sometimes prostrate and rooting from lower nodes, 30–90 cm tall, 3–4-noded. Leaf blades soft, 5–20 cm × 3–6 mm, glabrous, young blades folded; auricles to 3 mm; ligule 2–2.5 mm. Raceme stiffly erect, or rarely slightly curved, 10–30 cm; rachis glabrous, smooth, spikelets usually less than their own length apart. Spikelets 0.8–2 cm, florets 5–10, rachilla internodes ca. 1 mm, smooth, glabrous; glume lanceolate, 1/3 as long to subequaling spikelet, 3–9-veined, margins narrowly membranous, apex acute or obtuse; lemmas oblong, herbaceous, 5–9 mm, 5-veined, smooth, apex obtuse to subacute, awnless; palea ciliolate along keels. Caryopsis length more than 3 times width. Fl. and fr. May–Jul. 2n = 14, 28.

Loosely to densely tufted perennial; culms 10-90 cm high, erect or spreading, sometimes prostrate and rooting from the lower nodes, slender. Leaf-blades 5-14(-30) cm long, 2-4(-6) mm wide, folded when young, with or without auricles up to 3 mm long at the base. Spikes straight or slightly curved, 3-30 cm long, stiff, slender to moderately stout, the spikelets usually less than their own length apart but sometimes more widely spaced. Spikelets 5-20 mm long, 3-10 (-14)-flowered; upper glume 3.5-15 mm long, one-third to as long as the spikelet, rarely exceeding it, 3-9-nerved, acute or obtuse; lemmas oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 3.5-9 mm long, smooth, obtuse or subacute, not turgid at maturity, usually awnless but rarely with an awn up to 8 mm long.

N. Africa, Europe, temperate Asia.

Widely distributed in Europe, North Africa and the temperate regions of Asia.

Distribution: Pakistan (Baluchistan, Punjab, N.W.F.P & Kashmir); Widespread in Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa; widely introduced elsewhere.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: May-July.

Meadows, grassy places, moist roadsides. Commonly cultivated in China [Russia; N Africa, Europe].