Phalaris minor Retz.
المجنحة الصغرى، ذيل القط، شعير الفأر
For people
- Eaten by people
- Unknown
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Good fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Toxic
Edibility and safety notes
No reliable information on people eating this grass was found; the seed is used as birdseed. It is grazed and used as fodder, and the field guide rates it good for sheep. However, canary grasses (Phalaris), including this species, have been implicated in 'phalaris staggers', a nerve disease of sheep and less often cattle caused by tryptamine alkaloids, mainly when animals graze almost only young, lush regrowth for weeks. It should be one part of a mixed diet.
This guide is a hobby project, not expert advice. Never eat a wild plant, or feed it to animals, on the strength of this page alone. Read the disclaimer
Description
A tufted annual grass 20-70 cm tall (sometimes taller). Leaf blades are flat, 2-15 cm long and 3-9 mm wide; the ligule is 4-6 mm long. The inflorescence is a dense, spike-like panicle 2-5 cm long, oblong or ovoid, pale green. Spikelets are short-stalked; the two glumes are equal, 4.5-5.5 mm long, three-nerved and winged, the wing irregularly toothed. Flowers from March to June and reproduces by seed.
Habitat
Steppe, sandy and gravelly ground, and cultivated fields, where it is a weed of crops; tolerates a wide range of conditions.
Distribution
Native to the Mediterranean region, North Africa, south-west and south Asia (Europe, Turkey, Cyprus, the Levant, Iraq, Egypt, the Gulf, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, India); widely naturalised elsewhere.
Pastoral value
Rich in protein and of good grazing value for sheep. Canary grasses can cause 'phalaris staggers' in sheep and cattle when young growth is grazed almost exclusively.
Other uses
Used as green fodder and as birdseed; an important weed of wheat and other cereal crops.
Sources
- كتاب نباتات عمان
- Wikipedia - Phalaris minor — en.wikipedia.org
- Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation - Phalaris poisoning review/case (lists implicated species) — journals.sagepub.com
- NSW Government - Phalaris staggers in livestock — nsw.gov.au
- Feedipedia - Small canary grass (Phalaris minor) — feedipedia.org
- Wikipedia - Phalaris (plant) — en.wikipedia.org(plant)
- Plants For A Future - Phalaris minor — pfaf.org
- PubMed 20807948 - Phalaris arundinacea grass staggers in beef cattle — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
