This introduced, bunched or single stemmed, erect perennial grows from 2-4 feet tall. Stems have a characteristic swollen or bulblike base (D). Leaves up to 12 inches long and 3/8 inch wide taper to a fine pointed tip. The flower cluster is an erect cylindrical spike-like panicle from 1-6 inches long bearing many pale yellow anthers when flowering (B). Tiny, short awns on the glumes of the crowded, single-flowered spikelets are responsible for its bristly surface (A).
Roadsides, fields, woodland edges, pastures, ditches. Timothy is an uncommon grass on the Fontenelle Forest floodplain. Look for it in the vegetation between the parking lot and Camp Gifford Road and in the Floodplain Prairie on Hidden Lake Trail just east of the observation blind. It has not been observed in the uplands or at Neale Woods. Flowering occurs from May to August, but mainly in June and July.
Yellow Foxtail (Setaria glauca) also has an erect cylindrical flower cluster, but the bristles are longer and orange colored.
This species was a very early introduction from Europe. About 1720, Timothy Hanson of Maryland began to promote its use for hay, hence the common name “Timothy”. Subsequently, it has been widely planted for hay and forage, especially in cool and moist regions. It is now naturalized throughout much of the U.S. and Canada.
The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Neal Ratzlaff.