Phalaris canariensis L.
A tufted annual, with erect, rough-hairy stems 20 to 100 cm tall. Leaf blade 5 to 25 cm long, 3 to 10 mm wide; rough-hairy. Ligule pointed, 3 to 8 mm long. Inflorescence a dense, ovate panicle 2 to 5 cm long, with numerous overlapping spikelets. Spikelets 6 to 8 mm long, flattened, more or less obovate, whitish with green veins. Spikelets with 3 florets, the upper one fertile, the lower two sterile, reduced to 2 lemmas. Glumes 6 to 8 mm long and 2.5 mm wide, with 2 to 4 distinct veins; keel with wide, entire wing. Lemmas 2.5 to 4 mm long.
Local: Rare in Gibraltar. Usually found on waste ground and waysides.
Global: Found throughout the Mediterranean region, Canary Islands, and introduced in many parts of the world.
Flowers from (April) May to June.
Grows on pastures, waysides and waste ground.
Widely cultivated for its grain which is used for feeding cage birds.