Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Polypogon monspeliensis [Agrostis alopecuroides] [Alopecurus monspeliensis] [Phalaris aristata] etc.
Family
Poaceae
CommonName
annual rabbitsfoot grass, annual beards-grass
Presence
yes
Status
exotic
EarliestDate
1951
LatestDate
2015
Ecosystem
basin, ruderal, urban
Geobotanical
UBasin, LBasin
Counties
Alamosa, Conejos, Saguache
Passes
WildlifePreserves
Blanca Wetlands, Russell Lakes
Other Localities
Alamosa (town)
Comments
NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. Annual rabbitsfoot grass has been vouchered 8 times in the Watershed, all from the Basins. This exotic favors wet, alkaline habitats, which the Watershed basin also favors, so it is surprising there are not more observations. iNaturalist, however, adds four more occurrences from the Basins (2022-2024). Polygonum monspeliensis also adapts to ruderal ground, and has been recorded, for instance, from near the Adams State University practice field (Alamosa Co, 1975) and by a parking lot in the Blanca Wetlands (Alamosa Co, 2015). This introduced species is now common in all Western USA states, the Great Plains states, and states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico and Texas to the Gulf of Mexico.