Timothy (grass)

Timothy (Phleum pratense) is an abundant perennial grass native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It is also known as timothy-grass, meadow cat's-tail or common cat's tail. It is a member of the genus Phleum, consisting of about 15 species of annual and perennial grasses. It is probably named after Timothy Hanson, an American farmer and agriculturalist said to have introduced it from New England to the southern states in the early 18th century. Upon his recommendation it became a major source of hay and cattle fodder to British farmers in the mid-18th century. Timothy can be confused with meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) or purple-stem cat's-tail (Phleum phleoides). Timothy grows to tall, with leaves up to long and broad. The leaves are hairless, rolled rather than folded, and the lower sheaths turn dark brown. It has no stolons or rhizomes, and no auricles. The flowerhead is long and broad, with densely packed spikelets. It flowers from June until September. The stamen are pink. The ligule is short and blunt. It grows well in heavy soil, and is noted for its resistance to cold and drought, and thus ability to grow in dry upland or poor sandy soils. In pasture it tends to be overwhelmed by more competitive grasses. After cutting it grows slowly. File:Poaceae. - Phleum pratense.JPG|Close-up of flower head showing purple stamen (3 per floret) and feathery stigma (2 per floret) File:Timothy ligule.jpg|Ligule is short and blunt File:Illustration Phleum pratense0.jpg|Showing bulbous base and brown leaf sheaths File:Timothy seeds.jpg|Seeds There are two subspecies: Phleum pratense subsp. pratense. Larger, to tall. Widespread. Native to the Mediterranean. Phleum pratense subsp. bertolonii. Smaller, to tall. Calcareous grassland. Timothy was unintentionally introduced to North America by early settlers, and was first described in 1711 by John Hurd from plants growing in New Hampshire. Hurd named the grass "hurd grass" but a farmer named Timothy Hanson began to promote cultivation of it as a hay about 1720, and the grass has been known by its present name since then.

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Related concepts (5)

Timothy (grass)

Hay

Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Pigs can eat hay, but do not digest it as efficiently as herbivores do. Hay can be used as animal fodder when or where there is not enough pasture or rangeland on which to graze an animal, when grazing is not feasible due to weather (such as during the winter), or when lush pasture by itself would be too rich for the health of the animal.

Pasture

Pasture (from the Latin pastus, past participle of pascere, "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs (non-grass herbaceous plants). Pasture is typically grazed throughout the summer, in contrast to meadow which is ungrazed or used for grazing only after being mown to make hay for animal fodder.