Weed of the Day: Foxtail

Here is the common, invasive foxtail we are all used to seeing; it is actually a kind of barley. (Maybe everyone but me knew this already.) I'm not the best identifier, and there are a lot of grasses in the world, but I am pretty sure this is Hare Barley, Hordeum murinum, subspecies leporinum.

(hordeum is Latin for barley, lepidorinum means rabbit, I think)

Mostly when I see foxtail, all I think is keep the dog away! because the spiky dry seeds are like little barbed arrows that can burrow into dogs' ears and paws, causing infection and pain. Apparently they do the same thing to grazing animals like cattle, sheep, deer, elk, etc, and cause "lumpjaw" when the dried seedheads are eaten. But this is when the grass has dried, while it is green it is pretty innocuous.

Foxtail is tough. It is herbicide resistant, it can grow almost anywhere, it is a cool-weather annual grass that is short-lived and doesn't need much water, and it can take over the place! For control (and I do like to contain this one, simply because it is not local to my area-it's a European native-and can push out other grasses. And also because I don't like taking my dog to the vet to pull infected crap out of her ears.) Mow when seedheads are developed but still green, then solarize the seedheads. Or compost them, but only if you are a better composter than I and can count on your pile getting nice and hot and killing all the seeds. Or if this is a pastureland issue, then plow the grass under and reseed with something competitive.

Foxtail, like any other weed, does not exist in a vacuum of evil. I have to admire this grass for growing in the most dreary wastelands and finding a way to flourish almost anywhere. It also has been used for medicinal purposes: the Chippewa Indians used to make a poultice out of it for eye problems. According to another source, it is also useful as a diuretic, using a decotion of the plant.

The seeds are edible and can be cooked in porridge or ground into flour.

It can be used as a quick-growing ground cover to prevent erosion.

It is pretty.

But let's face it, it's a weed. The key words here are invasive non-native.