Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Alopecurus geniculatus L.

Synonyms

Alopecurus australis Nees

Family

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

Common Names

foxtail, foxtail grass, marsh fox-tail, marsh foxtail, water foxtail

Origin

Native to north-western Africa (i.e. Algeria and Morocco), Europe and the Indian sub-continent (i.e. India and Nepal). Possibly also native to some parts of North America (i.e. southern Alaska, Canada and the northern and western parts of the USA).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in the temperate and semi-arid regions of southern and central Australia. It is most common and widespread in Victoria, Tasmania, the eastern and southern parts of South Australia and the inland regions of New South Wales. Also present in inland southern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, some inland parts of southern Western Australia and other parts of South Australia.

Notes

Marsh foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria and Western Australia. This species often grows as a weed of damp or wet areas (i.e. waterways and wetlands) in inland regions.

It is of most concern in Victoria, where it is thought to pose a threat to one or more vegetation formations. Marsh foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus) is listed as a high threat weed species in calcareous wet herbland vegetation in the Glenelg Plain bioregion. It also appears on some environmental weed lists in this state (i.e. in Knox City and the Goulburn Broken Catchment) and has been recorded in the Barkindji Biosphere Reserve, in north-western Victoria.

Though not yet common or widespread in Western Australia, it is a weed of woodland areas in the goldfields region and was given a mild rating in the Environmental Weed Strategy of Western Australia. It has also been recorded in Kinchega National Park in south-western New South Wales and is associated with permanently or temporarily wet sites (e.g. river red gum flats) in South Australia.