Barbed goatgrass (Aegilops triuncialis)

Category A Weed

Grasses family (Poaceae)

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Stem

  • 8-16 in. tall

    Leaves

    • Gray green, 1-4 in. long, ridged and sharp; sparsely covered with long white hairs; ligules are membranous and auricles are clasping 

      Flower

      • Seedheads are 1-2.5 in. long, reddish or purplish then dry to straw color, each spike has 4 sessile spikelets with 1-2 florets each; 3 long, stiff awns come from each glume; awns and glumes are all minutely barbed

        Root

        • Fibrous; spikelet that led to germination often still attached to base of plant

          Other

          • Infests rangelands, grasslands, pastures and croplands; known to occur in Washoe county  
          • Winter annual, seeds viable for 2+ years; high silica content produces persistent thatch layer
          • Livestock avoid mature plants due to awns; seedheads stick to clothing and fur 
          • Can crossbreed with wheat, producing sterile seed and unsaleable

            Control

            • Hand pulling or hoeing is effective on small infestations; mowing is ineffective as plants will regrow; deep tilling can place seeds below sprouting depth, but repeated tilling can bring buried seeds to the surface; burning of infested fields may be effective, but will not control seedbank   
            • Glyphosate effective on actively growing plants before flowering; chlorsulfuron, imazapic, sulfometuron are effective preemergence and early post emergence  

              Images


              Mature plant
              Spikelet
              Floret

              Inflorescence