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Ryegrass (Lolium) is a genus of nine species of tufted grass
Grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
es, family Poaceae
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
. Also called tares (even though there is no firm evidence that this is the same as the plant given that name in English language translations of the Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 - vetches are another candidate), these plants are native to Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 and northern Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, but are widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere. Ryegrasses are naturally diploid, with 2n = 14, and are closely related to the fescue
Fescue

Fescue is a genus of about 300 species of perennial plant tufted grasses, belonging to the grass family Poaceae . The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although the majority of the species are found in cool temperate areas, such as the transition zone and Canada....
s Festuca.

Ryegrass should not be confused with Rye
Rye

Rye is a Poaceae grown extensively as a grain and forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some rye whiskey, some vodkas, and animal fodder....
, which is a grain crop.

following are accepted as distinct species:

rasses contain some species which are important grasses for both lawn
Lawn

A lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with Poaceae, and sometimes clover and other plants, which are maintained at a low, even height....
s, and as pasture
Pasture

Pasture is land with herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulate livestock as part of a farm or ranch. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses....
 and for grazing and hay
Hay

Hay is a generic term for Poaceae or legumes that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing animals like cattle, horses, domestic goat, and sheep....
 for livestock
Livestock

Livestock is the term used to refer to a domesticated animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce things such as food or fibre, or for its labour....
, being a highly nutritious stock feed.






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Encyclopedia


Ryegrass (Lolium) is a genus of nine species of tufted grass
Grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
es, family Poaceae
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
. Also called tares (even though there is no firm evidence that this is the same as the plant given that name in English language translations of the Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 - vetches are another candidate), these plants are native to Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 and northern Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, but are widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere. Ryegrasses are naturally diploid, with 2n = 14, and are closely related to the fescue
Fescue

Fescue is a genus of about 300 species of perennial plant tufted grasses, belonging to the grass family Poaceae . The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although the majority of the species are found in cool temperate areas, such as the transition zone and Canada....
s Festuca.

Ryegrass should not be confused with Rye
Rye

Rye is a Poaceae grown extensively as a grain and forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some rye whiskey, some vodkas, and animal fodder....
, which is a grain crop.

Species

The following are accepted as distinct species:
  • Lolium canariense Steud. - Canary Islands Ryegrass
  • Lolium edwardii H.Scholz, Stierst. & Gaisberg
  • Lolium multiflorum
    Lolium multiflorum

    Lolium multiflorum is a ryegrass native to temperate Europe, although the precise location of its origin is unknown.It is an Herbaceous plant Annual plant, Biennial plant, or Perennial plant grass that is grown for silage and as a cover crop....
     Lam. - Italian Ryegrass
  • Lolium perenne
    Lolium perenne

    Perennial Ryegrass is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world....
     L. - Perennial Ryegrass
  • Lolium persicum - Persian Ryegrass or Persian Darnel
  • Lolium remotum Schrank
  • Lolium rigidum Gaudin - Stiff Darnel, Wimmera Ryegrass
  • Lolium temulentum
    Lolium temulentum

    Lolium temulentum, typically known as darnel or cockle, is an annual plant that forms part of the Poaceae family and part of the Lolium genus....
     L. - Darnel, Poison Darnel


Cultivation and uses

Ryegrasses contain some species which are important grasses for both lawn
Lawn

A lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with Poaceae, and sometimes clover and other plants, which are maintained at a low, even height....
s, and as pasture
Pasture

Pasture is land with herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulate livestock as part of a farm or ranch. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses....
 and for grazing and hay
Hay

Hay is a generic term for Poaceae or legumes that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing animals like cattle, horses, domestic goat, and sheep....
 for livestock
Livestock

Livestock is the term used to refer to a domesticated animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce things such as food or fibre, or for its labour....
, being a highly nutritious stock feed. Ryegrasses are also used in soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
 erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 control programs. It is the principal grazing grass in New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 where some 10 million kilograms of certified seed are produced every year. There is a large range of cultivar
Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s. The primary species found worldwide and used for both lawns and as a forage crop is perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Like many cool-season grasses, it is often infected by a clandestine, fungal endophyte which lives symbiotically within its leaves.

Some species, particularly L. temulentum, are weed
WEED

WEED is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA, it serves the area. The station is currently owned by Northstar Broadcasting Corporation....
s which can have a severe impact on the production of wheat and other crops. Ryegrass pollen
Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of Gametophyte , which produce the male gametes of spermatophyta. A hard coat covering the pollen grain protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens of the flower to the pistil of the next flower....
 is also one of the major causes of hay fever
Hay Fever

Hay Fever is a comic play written by No?l Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Best described as a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play is set in an English country house in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish b...
.

Synonyms

Illustration Lolium Temulentum0
*L. ambiguum = Lolium multiflorum
  • L. annuum = Lolium temulentum
  • L. arundinaceum = Festuca arundinacea
  • L. berteronianum = Lolium temulentum
  • L. brasilianum = Lolium perenne
  • L. canadense = Lolium perenne
  • L. crassiculme = Lolium rigidum
  • L. cuneatum = Lolium temulentum
  • L. dorei = Lolium persicum
  • L. giganteum = Festuca gigantea
  • L. gracile = Lolium temulentum
  • L. lepturoides = Lolium rigidum subsp. lepturoides
  • L. marschallii = Lolium perenne
  • L. parabolicae = Lolium rigidum
  • L. pratense = Festuca pratensis
  • L. remotum = Lolium temulentum subsp. remotum
  • L. romanum = Lolium multiflorum
  • L. scabrum = Lolium multiflorum
  • L. siculum = Lolium multiflorum
  • L. subulatum = Lolium rigidum subsp. lepturoides
  • L. teres = Lolium rigidum subsp. lepturoides
  • L. trabutii = Lolium rigidum