Dactylis glomerata
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
cocksfoot
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Detailed description
Hairless, erect, greyish to bluish green, strongly tufted perennial grass to 1 m tall. Roots fibrous. Leaf folded when emerging, 100–450 × 2–14 mm, rough towards boat-shaped tip, harsh when old, dull beneath with prominent sharp keel. Ligule 2–12 mm long, membranous, often torn. Sheath strongly flattened, sharply keeled. Seedhead a large panicle, with one-sided clusters of flattened spikelets. Seeds with bristly ends.
Similar taxa
Distinctive large pannicle, with one-sided clusters when mature. May be confused with Poa annua when young but sheath base is flattened in D. glomerata and not in Poa annua.
Habitat
Terrestrial. A plant of coastal, lowland, montane and subalpine habitats (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995). Plant grows in scrub and forest margin, shrubland, tussockland, herbfields, fernland, sand dune hollows and riverbeds (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Poaceae
Ecology
Year naturalised
1867
Origin
Eurasia, Nth Africa
Reason for introduction
Agricultural
Tolerances
The plant is slightly tolerant to drought, shade and poor drainage and is frost tolerant (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995). The plant is able to resprout after physical damage and fire (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. Reproduces by tillars and seed. Seed is dispersed by wind, water, humans and vertebrates (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
dactylis: From the Greek dacktyolos ‘a finger’, referring to the shape of the panicle
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
DACGLO
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Timmins SM, Mackenzie IW. 1995. Weeds in New Zealand Protected Natural Areas database. Department of Conservation Technical Series 8. Department of Conservation, Wellington, NZ. 282 p.