Vulpia elliotea

Vulpia elliotea, known by the common name sand fescue or squirreltail fescue, is an annual grass native to the southeastern United States. Its specific epithet elliotea is named for its discoverer, Stephen Elliott.

Description

Vulpia elliotea is an erect grass, growing up to in height. Its leaf sheaths are glabrous, and its blades are typically glabrous though they can be scabrous above. The involute blades are wide. The inflorescence is long. The erect panicle has ascending spikelets long. The first glume is long; the second glume is long. The typically pubescent lemmas are long, and the awns are two to four times as long. The grass flowers from May to June.

Distribution and habitat

Vulpia elliotea grows in dry, sandy prairies from New Jersey to Texas, up to southern Illinois and Missouri.