**Phalaris minor Retz (Poaceae)**

**Littleseed Canary Grass**

**Description**. Annual, 1-9 dm tall, stems erect, glabrous. Leaves
alternate, ligules 3-8 mm long, truncate, entire to lacerate, auricles
present; sheaths glabrous to slightly scabrous; blades linear, flat to
folded, 4-15 mm wide, glabrous to slightly scabrous. Inflorescence a
dense, terminal spike, 1.5-5 cm long, somewhat ovoid. Spikelets 4-5 mm
long; glumes 4-6 mm long, oblong to lanceolate, with a strongly winged
keel, the apex obtuse to rounded and minutely toothed or notched;
florets 3, the sterile ones 1-3 mm long, scale-like to linear, fertile
lemma 3-4 mm long, ovate, silky-villous, apex acute, awnless. In
California, flowering from March to June. (Anderson 1961, Holmgren and
Holmgren 1977, Munz 1959, Tselev 1984, Tutin 1980).

**Geographic distribution**. A native of Mediterranean Europe and
western Asia, it is considered a waif in Great Britain, but has been
introduced and become naturalized in Australia, southern

Africa, and Hawaii (Anderson 1961, Arnold and de Wet 1993, Chapman 1991,
Clapham et al.

1962, Gibbs Russell et al. 1955, Hitchcock 1944, Munz 1959, Tselev 1984,
Wagner et al 1990).

*Phalaris minor* was first reported from southern California in the late
1880s, but may have become established eralier in north-central
California (Robbins 1940). It is known from all four northern California
Channel Islands and Santa Barbara Island (Junak et al. 1997) and occurs
sporadically throughout most counties west of the Sierra Nevada
(Anonymous 1998, Anderson 1993).

**Reproductive and vegetative biology**. Like most species of grasses,
*Phalaris* spp. are wind-pollinated (Proctor et al. 1996). Most species
of *Phalaris* are self-compatible, but the level of selfing versus
outcrossing is unknown (Anderson 1961). Seed germination of *Phalaris
minor* is enhanced by warm moist conditions, expecially when soils are
shallowly cultivated in preparation for cereal crops (Okereke et al.
1981). However, it does not compete well under cultivated conditions,
especially when fields are subject to irrigation and fertilizer
treatments (Afentouli and Elefiherohorinos 1996, Iqbal and Wright 1997).
Experimental studies have shown that seed germination is significantly
reduced by aquaeous extracts derived from rice stubble, suggesting that
tilling and removal of stubble may influence recruitment in rice fields
(Tamak et al.

1994).

**Ecological distribution**. *Phalaris minor* tends to occur in both dry
and moist sites of disturbed sites, roadsides, irrigation canals, and
fallow fields (Anderson 1961, 1993, Clapham et al. 1962, Hitchcock 1944,
Munz 1959, Wagner et al 1990).

**Weed status**. *Phalaris minor* is not considered a noxious weed in
agricultural or horticultural practice, at least at a global level (not
listed by Holm et al. 1977), nor is it considered noxious by the State
Dept. of Food and Agriculture (Anonymous 1996). It is not listed for the
United States in Lorenzi and Jeffery (1987). However, *Phalaris minor*
has become a serious weed in cultivated fields in India and Pakistan
(Shad and Siddiqui 1996).

**Microbial pathogens**. Several bacterial and fungal pathogens have
been reported on *Phalaris minor* in cultivated wheat fields, including
*Azospirillum*, *Enterobacter*, *Helminthosporium*, *Sclerophthora*, and
*Tilletia*. However, in most cases, pathogens do not appear to be
species-specific, with *Phalaris* often serving as a host plant
unaffected by the pathogen (Bilal et al. 1993, Singh and Mukerjee 1981,
Singh et al. 1982).

**Insect pathogens**. No literature was found that reported *Phalaris*
as a host of insect pathogens.

**Herbicide control**. Several kinds of herbicides have been used to
control canary grass, including atrazine, diclofop-methyl,
fenoxaprop-p-ethyl, triazine, Fenoxaprop-P, flupyrsulfuron-methyl,
isoproturon, metsulfuron, tralkoxydim, and triazine, (Kumar and Singh
1997, Kumar et al. 1997, Malik and Singh 1984, Mirkamali 1987, Schonfeld
et al. 1987, Singh et al. 1995b, Tewari et al. 1988, Yaacoby et al.
1986, Yadav et al. 1984).

The evolution of resistance to several herbicides, including atrazine,
Fenoxaprop-P, flupyrsulfuron, isoproturon, and triazine, has been
reported (Koeppe et al. 1997, Malik and Singh 1995, Singh et al. 1995a,
Tal et al. 1996, Yadav et al. 1996, Yaduraju 1998). The use and efficacy
of diclofop in controlling populations composed of herbicide resistant
strains has been reported by Brar (1997).

**Literature Cited**

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brachystachys*) interference in wheat and barley. Weed Science. 44:
560-565.

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College Journal of Science 36:1-96.

Anonymous. 1996. Exotic pest plants of greatest ecological concern in
California as of August 1996. California Exotic Pest Plant Council. 8
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Anonymous. 1998. California county flora database version 2, Santa
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Barbara and New Orleans. URL = plants.usda.gov

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