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close-up of mature flower spikelet, left, seeds, centre, and mature florets, right (Photo: Steve Hurst at USDA PLANTS Database)

Phleum pratense

Scientific Name

Phleum pratense L.

Family

Gramineae (South Australia)
Poaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)

Common Names

cat's tail, cat's tail grass, catstail, common Timothy, herd's grass, meadow cat's-tail, Timothy, Timothy grass, Timothy-grass

Origin

Native to north-western Africa (i.e. northern Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), Europe, western and northern Asia (i.e. Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and northern China) and the Indian Sub-continent (i.e. northern India and northern Pakistan).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. in many parts of New South Wales, in the ACT, in eastern and southern Victoria, in Tasmania, in south-eastern South Australia and in the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia).

Naturalised overseas in southern Africa, New Zealand, USA, tropical Southern America, the Mascarenes and Hawaii.

Notes

Timothy grass (Phleum pratense) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria and as a minor environmental weed or "sleeper weed" in other temperate regions of southern Australia. This species is often planted as a pasture or fodder plant in cooler areas, or occasionally as a soil stabiliser, and prefers heavy soils in moist habitats. It has since spread from these deliberate plantings and invaded natural vegetation.

Timothy grass (Phleum pratense) is considered to pose a significant threat to dry coastal vegetation, dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands in Victoria. It also appears on some local and regional environmental weed lists in this state (e.g. in the Goulburn Broken Catchment and at Falls Creek). In southern New South Wales, Timothy grass (Phleum pratense) has become naturalised in sub-alpine and montane areas of Kosciuszko National Park. It also grows in damp areas in south-western Western Australia (e.g. along the Warren River).

This species is also recognised as invasive in the USA, where it has been found to reduce species richness, species diversity, and percentage cover in native fescue grasslands.