Poaceae

Alpine meadow-foxtail

Alopecurus magellanicus Lam.

Family: Poaceae
Genus: Alopecurus

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Alpine meadow-foxtail (Alopecurus magellanicus) — FlowerPhoto: Andreas Neumann, CC0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (6)

Arabic: ثعلبية ماجلانية
Czech: Psárka magellanská
English: Alpine meadow-foxtail, Sonoma alopecurus
Finnish: Tundrapuntarpää
Swedish: Polarkavle
Welsh: Cynffonwellt y mynydd

Synonyms

Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis P.Rubtzov
Alopecurus alpinus Sm.
Alopecurus alpinus f. antarcticus (Vahl) Hack.
Alopecurus alpinus f. lechleri Dusén
Alopecurus alpinus f. stejnegeri (Vasey) A.E.Porsild
Alopecurus alpinus subsp. alpinus
Alopecurus alpinus subsp. borealis (Trin.) Jurtzev
Alopecurus alpinus subsp. glaucus (Less.) Hultén
Alopecurus alpinus subsp. pseudobrachystachyus (Ovcz.) Tzvelev
Alopecurus alpinus subsp. stejnegeri (Vasey) Hultén
Alopecurus alpinus var. altaicus (Griseb.) Krylov
Alopecurus alpinus var. antarcticus (Vahl) Macloskie
Alopecurus alpinus var. antarcticus (Vahl) Macloskie & Dusén
Alopecurus alpinus var. aristatus Hook.f.
Alopecurus alpinus var. borealis (Trin.) Krylov
Alopecurus alpinus var. borealis (Trin.) Griseb.
Alopecurus alpinus var. elatus Roshev.
Alopecurus alpinus var. glaucus (Less.) Krylov
Alopecurus alpinus var. gracilior Hook.f.
Alopecurus alpinus var. muticus Sarfatti ex Lange
Alopecurus alpinus var. occidentalis (Scribn.) B.Boivin
Alopecurus alpinus var. robustior Hook.f.
Alopecurus alpinus var. robustus Druce
Alopecurus alpinus var. stejnegeri (Vasey) Hultén
Alopecurus alpinus var. tenuis (Kom.) Roshev.
Alopecurus altaicus (Griseb.) Petrov
Alopecurus antarcticus Vahl
Alopecurus antarcticus f. bracteatus (Phil.) Parodi ex Probst
Alopecurus antarcticus f. triceps (E.H.L.Krause) Parodi
Alopecurus antarcticus var. bracteatus (Phil.) Parodi
Alopecurus antarcticus var. brevispiculatus Hack.
Alopecurus antarcticus var. lechleri Parodi
Alopecurus antarcticus var. triceps (E.H.L.Krause) Parodi
Alopecurus antarcticus var. typicus Parodi
Alopecurus arcticus F.Dietr.
Alopecurus behringianus Gand.
Alopecurus borealis Trin.
Alopecurus borealis subsp. borealis
Alopecurus borealis subsp. glaucus (Less.) Dogan
Alopecurus borealis var. igoschinae Tzvelev

and 21 more.

Flowers

In flower: June to August (from 145 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Flower colour: white (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Graminoid
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Alaska: native, Canada: native, Greenland: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Andreas Neumann, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Ingvild Riska, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Ingvild Riska, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: William Stephens, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FruitPhoto: Ingvild Riska, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Victor M. Vicente Selvas, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Daderot, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Paul Prior, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Daderot, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Philip Precey, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Philip Precey, CC0, from iNaturalist

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Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.