Description:Thisperennial grass is about 2-3' tall and unbranched. Each culm is green,slender, glabrous, and terete in cross-section. The leaf blades are upto 8" long and 1/3" (8 mm.) across; they are green, bluish green, orgrayishblue, linear in shape, hairless, and rather flat. The sheaths aregreen, glabrous, longitudinally veined, and open; they often split openat their apices, forming a deep V-shape. The nodes of the culm are redand glabrous, while the ligules are white-membranous. The culmterminatesin a panicle of one-flowered spikelets. This panicle is up to 8" longand one-half as much across; when fully open, it is broader at the basethan at the top and rather airy in appearance. Along the rachis(central stalk) of the panicle, there are whorls of ascending to widelyspreading lateral branches; these branches are reddish green or palered, glabrous, and straight. The spikelets and pedicels areheld in alignment with the lateral branches. The shortpedicels of thespikelets are reddish green or pale red and glabrous. Eachspikelet is2-3 mm. in length; it consists of 2 glumes about 2-3 mm. long, asingle fertile lemma about 1.5-2 mm. long, an inner palea that is alittle shorter than the lemma, and a perfect floret. The glumes arelanceolate in shape and keeled; there are often fine hairs orbristles along theedges of their keels, although this is difficult to see withoutmagnification. The fertile lemma is greenish white to white,translucent, and lanceolate in shape; the inner palea iswhite-membranous.
While the flowersare blooming, the spikelets are light silver-red. Shortly afterwards,the spikelets become light gray and rather dull. Theblooming period usually occurs from late spring to mid-summer, lastingabout 1-2 weeks for a colony of plants. The florets arecross-pollinated by the wind. At maturity, the spikelets disarticulateabove the glumes. The grains are 1.0-1.5 mm. long, ellipsoidin shape, and light brown.The root system is fibrous, also producing rhizomes or lowstolons. Redtopis a sod-forming grass that forms dense clonal colonies. This grassalso readily reseeds itself.
Cultivation:The preference is full sun, moist to mesic conditions, and soilcontaining loam or clay-loam. This grass adapts well to worn-out soilin agricultural fields.
Range & Habitat:Redtop is a common grass that can be found in every county of Illinois(see DistributionMap). It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring in bothNorth America and Eurasia. This grass was probably introduced intoNorth America from Eurasia (majority view), although it has also beenconsidered native to some parts of North America (minority view).Habitats includedegraded prairies (especially clay prairies), moist meadows nearstreams, ditches, and fields. Redtop is still used in agricultureas a source of forage (particularly for horses); it is often grown inSE Illinois for this purpose. Disturbed areas are preferred.
FaunalAssociations:Thecaterpillars of several skippers feed on the foliage of Redtop,including Amblyscirtes vialis (Common RoadsideSkipper), Hesperia leonardus (Leonard's Skipper),and Hylephila phyleus (Fiery Skipper). Other insectfeeders include the caterpillars of a butterfly, Cercyonis pegala(Common Wood Nymph), and the caterpillars of a moth, Leucania pseudargyria(False Wainscot). The spikelets of this grass are eaten by Conocephalus brevipennis(Short-winged Meadow Katydid) and Conocephalusfasciatus (Slender Meadow Katydid), while Neoconocephalus ensiger(Sword-bearing Conehead) eats the seeds and Pseudopomala brachyptera(Short-winged Toothpick Grasshopper) eats the leaves (Gangwere, 1961).Redtop is also a host plant of Sphenophorusminimus (Little Billbug) and Sphenophorus parvulus(Bluegrass Billbug) according to Vaurie (1983).The seeds are eaten by the Field Sparrow to a limited extent, while theCottontail Rabbit occasionally browses on the foliage. Redtop is quitepalatable to livestock.
Photographic Location:A moist grassy area along a drainage ditch in Champaign, Illinois.
Comments:Redtop isan attractive grass during its short period of bloom, otherwise it israther ordinary looking. In areas where it is grown as an agriculturalcrop, it can become a significant source of hay fever during the latespring or earlysummer. Redtop can be distinguished from other Agrostis spp.(bent grasses) by its colorful inflorescence during the blooming periodand the width of its leaf blades (up to 1/3" or 8 mm. across).Other bent grasses in Illinois usuallyhave inflorescences that are green or grey during the blooming periodand their leaf blades are more narrow. Some spikelets of Redtop arelocated near the rachis (central stalk) of the inflorescence; thespikelets of other bent grasses are often more remote from theirrachises.In general, bent grasses can be distinguished from other grasses bytheir tiny one-flowered spikelets, their claw-like persistentglumes, and the absence of conspicuous tufts of hair on their spikeletsand ligules. Redtop is oftenreferred to as Agrostisalba, although this scientific name is considered obsolete.
FAQs
Agrostis gigantea commonly known as redtop, is reported to be weedy or invasive in some states in the USA and provinces in Canada.
What is the seeding rate for red top? ›
Redtop can be established by seed, sprigs, or sod. For seeding, plant at a depth of 0-1/4 inch into a smooth, firm, well-drained, weed free seed bed. For turf plantings, seed at a rate of approximately 1 lb/1000 ft². For pasture and range plantings a rate of 0.5 lbs/ac is recommended (Ogle et al., 2009).
Is red top grass good for cattle? ›
Redtop has fairly good palatability to livestock in spring and early summer, but palatability decreases after seeds are mature and is poor in the winter [57]. Redtop is not as palatable as other meadow grasses such as timothy (Phleum pratense) and Kentucky bluegrass [66].
How do you identify Agrostis gigantea? ›
Identification: Redtop is a rhizomatous perennial grass that makes a coarse but fairly dense turf. Leaves are narrow and sharp and about 3/8 inch wide. The stems are slender, growing to 30-40 inches tall. The inflorescence is pyramidal and reddish in color.
Why are invasive grasses bad? ›
As invasions get worse, it replaces the native perennial grasses that better sustain livestock through the summer. Plus, cheatgrass on your land doubles the risk of wildfire. It ignites as easily as tissue paper and causes fire to spread rapidly.
What are the most invasive grasses? ›
223 Species
| Subject Name | Scientific Name ↓ | Family |
|---|
| Long's sedge | Carex longii Mackenzie | Cyperaceae |
| hanging sedge | Carex pendula Huds. | Cyperaceae |
| Chinese fountaingrass | Cenchrus alopecuroides (L.) Thunb. | Poaceae |
| buffelgrass | Cenchrus ciliaris L. | Poaceae |
104 more rowsRed clover can be seeded at 4 to 6 pounds per acre and ladino clover at 2 to 3 pounds per acre. If mixed, seed 3 to 4 pounds of red clover plus 1 to 2 pounds of ladino clover per acre. Lespedeza can be seeded at 8 to 10 pounds per acre.
How far down should you plant a seed? ›
The rule of thumb is to plant seeds at a depth equal to two or three times their width. It is better to plant seeds too shallow than too deep. Some seeds, such as certain Lettuces or Snapdragon, need light to germinate and should not be covered at all.
Where does Redtop grow? ›
Habitat: Redtop has been cultivated and planted extensively throughout North America and has been widely naturalized in numerous habitats. It occurs in areas with shallow water, wet meadows and stream banks from sea level to 8,000 ft (Monsen et al., 2004).
What is the best grass to fatten cattle? ›
Woolly oat grass (Enneapogon polyphyllus) is an annual or short-lived perennial tussock grass that reaches a height of 45 cm. At all growth phases, it is easily grazed and recognised as valuable fodder. When it dominates pastures it supplies enough nutrients to fatten cattle.
Ryegrass, Bahiagrass, and Bermuda Grass is a popular grass mixture often used by farmers, as it provides high nutritional value while protecting pastures from erosion. Ryegrass in particular grows best between September to November, seeded at a rate of over 500,000 acres every year.
What grass has the most protein for cattle? ›
When comparing the typical nutrient content of farm feeds, we can see that grazed leafy ryegrass contains 16-25% protein within dry matter. This is higher than the majority of farm feed types listed in the table below.
What is the common name for Agrostis gigantea? ›
Agrostis gigantea, known by its common names black bent and redtop, is a perennial grass of the Agrostis genus.
What is the common name for Agrostis? ›
Agrostis (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass.
What does needlegrass look like? ›
Purple needlegrass is a densely tufted, long-lived, upright perennial bunchgrass with conspicuous awns. It has numerous basal leaves and a distinct nodding habit. The leaf blades are smooth to finely hairy. Basal blades are long, flat and 2.4 - 6 mm (.
How invasive is elephant grass? ›
This plant has escaped cultivation and is considered invasive in warm, frost-free regions of Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania. Check local laws or invasive plant lists before adding this plant to your landscape.
How invasive is Mexican feather grass? ›
N. tenuissima is an extremely vigorous plant and will likely spread out of its designated place in the garden. This plant can crowd out pasture species as well as native grasses in coastal areas. Fortunately, there are many beautiful, hardy, non-invasive alternatives to choose instead of this invasive plant.
How invasive is zebra grass? ›
Miscanthus sinensis will spread somewhat invasively in the landscape, particularly in some of the milder areas of its growing range. It often initially spreads to disturbed sites such as roadsides, railroad right-of-ways or woodland margins.
Is tall fescue an invasive species? ›
It can invade grassland, savanna and woodland habitats and the edges of some open marsh and fen systems. It is a persistent perennial that can compete strongly with many native species.
