Weed Seed: Lolium persicum (Persian darnel)

Family

Poaceae

Common Name

Persian darnel

Regulation

Secondary Noxious, Class 3 in the Canadian Weed Seeds Order, 2016 under the Seeds Act.

Distribution

Canadian: Occurs in AB, BC, MB, ON, QC and SK (Brouillet et al. 2016^Footnote 1).

Worldwide: Native to temperate Asia and southern tropical Asia (USDA-ARS 2016^Footnote 2). In the United States, it is widespread in the upper midwest states of Montana and North Dakota (USDA-NRCS 2016^Footnote 3).

Duration of life cycle

Annual

Seed or fruit type

Floret

Identification features

Size

• Floret length: 7.0 - 11.8 mm
• Floret width: 1.5 - 2.8 mm
• Floret thickness: 1.3 - 2.0 mm
• Awn length: up to 15.0 mm

Shape

• Floret oblong, compressed

Surface Texture

• Floret granular

Colour

• Floret straw-yellow

Other Features

• Lemmas are usually unawned
• Rachilla is flat and generally held close to the palea

Habitat and Crop Association

Cultivated fields (especially spring cereals), gardens, railway lines, roadsides and disturbed areas (Holman et al. 2004^Footnote 4, Darbyshire 2003^Footnote 5).

Similar species

Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum)

• Annual ryegrass has a similar oblong shape, straw-yellow colour and flattened rachilla as Persian darnel. It is often difficult to tell these species apart.
• Annual ryegrass florets may curve towards the lemma, the rachilla may be held away from the palea, and the florets are usually awned.

Photos

Similar species