2. Lolium persicum Boiss. & Hohen. (Persian darnel)

Pl. 178 f; Map 722

Plants annual, forming tufts. Flowering stems 30–80. Leaf sheaths with the ligule 0.5–2.0 mm long. Leaf blades 3–20 cm long, 2–7 mm wide. Inflorescences 5–12(–20) cm long, the axis roughened along the angles. Spikelets 10–22 mm long (excluding the awns), with 4–9 florets. Glume 7–20 mm long, 2/3 as long to about as long as the rest of the spikelet, relatively stiff. Lemmas with the body 6–12 mm long, mostly 3.5–5.0 times as long as wide, oblong‑lanceolate to oblong‑oblanceolate in outline, sharply pointed at the tip, with an awn 3–15 mm long. Anthers 1.5–3.0 mm long. Fruits 4–7 mm long, relatively slender, about 3–5 times as long as wide. 2n=14. May–June.

Introduced, known only from St. Louis (native of Europe and Asia; introduced sporadically in the northern U.S., Canada, and England). Railroads.

This species was first introduced into North America as a contaminant in wheat seed in Canada (Terrell, 1968). Mühlenbach (1979) noted that Steyermark (1963) mistakenly reported the specimens upon which this species’ Missouri distribution is based as L. temulentum.