Cocksfoot

Dactylis glomerata

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Poales

Family:

Poaceae (Grass)

Also in this family:

Annual Meadow-grass, Arrow Bamboo, Bermuda Grass, Blue Moor-grass, Bread Wheat, California Brome Grass, Canary Grass, Common Cord-grass, Common Millet, Common Reed, Corn, Couch Grass, Creeping Soft-grass, Crested Dog's-tail, False Oat-grass, Greater Quaking Grass, Hairy Brome Grass, Italian Rye Grass, Knotroot Bristlegrass, Lyme Grass, Marram Grass, Marsh Foxtail, Mat Grass, Meadow Foxtail, Mountain Melick, Pampas Grass, Perennial Rye Grass, Quaking Grass, Reed Canary Grass, Reed Sweet-grass, Rough Meadow-grass, Six-rowed Barley, Small Sweet-grass, Smooth Meadow-grass, Soft Brome Grass, Sweet Vernal Grass, Timothy Grass, Two-rowed Barley, Wall Barley, Wild Oat, Wood Melick, Yorkshire Fog

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Maximum Size:

1 metre tall

Habitats:

Farmland, grassland, meadows, woodland.

Flower:

Green, no petals

Distinctive and easy to identify with its oval purplish flowerheads. Stalks long and round.

Fruit:

Narrow, pointed, oval, reddish-purple seeds. 1-sided, feather-like and up to 8mm long. The genus part of the Botanical name for this plant, Dactylis, is derived from the Greek word for 'finger' and it is referring to the shape of the seed heads. The name of the plant itself, Cocksfoot, is also referring to the shape of the seed heads.

Leaves:

The foliage is coarse and grows in compact tufts. It's dark blue-green linear leaf blades can reach a maximum of 1.5cm wide and can reach a length of up to 50cm.

Other Names:

Barnyard Grass, Cat Grass, Cockspur, Orchard Grass.

Frequency (UK):

Abundant

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map