# bristly dogtail grass

*Cynosurus echinatus*

The 'bristles' on the flower head are actually sterile spikelets that serve no reproductive purpose other than assisting in seed dispersal via animal fur.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Poales › Poaceae › Cynosurus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** increasing
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry meadows, disturbed soils, roadsides, and open grasslands.
- **Diet:** Photosynthetic (sunlight, water, and soil minerals).
- **Range:** Mediterranean Basin, North America, South America, Australia, South Africa
- **Size:** 10 to 60 cm tall
- **Lifespan:** 1 year (annual)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss through urbanization, though it often thrives in disturbed human environments.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless to humans. Its bristly awns are designed to cling to fabric and fur; check your socks and your pet's paws after walking through tall grass to avoid skin irritation or embedded seeds.

## About

Cynosurus echinatus is a species of grass known by the common names bristly dogstail grass , rough dog's-tail and hedgehog dogtail . It is native to southern Europe, and it is known in the Americas and Australia as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. An herbicide-resistant strain can be found growing as a weed in canola and wheat fields in Chile. This is an annual grass growing 10 to 50 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is a...

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/4000a072-42c7-4089-ada7-706f26d34fb2
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47695
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynosurus echinatus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/438248468/medium.jpeg ((c) Matt Berger, certains droits réservés (CC BY), publiées par Matt Berger, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.