Taeniatherum caput-medusae

TaxID: 37687

Basic Information

Taeniatherum caput-medusae

Medusa's-head, Medusahead

Taeniatherum is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the grass family. The only recognized species is medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) which is native to southern and central Europe (from Portugal to European Russia), North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), and Asia (from Turkey and Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and Kazakhstan). It is also naturalized in southern Australia, Chile, and parts of North America. This aggressive winter annual grass is changing the ecology of western rangelands in North America. It was first observed in the United States in Oregon in 1903 by Thomas Howell. Forty-eight percent of the total land area of the United States is rangeland, pastureland, national parks, nature preserves, and other wildlands. These lands are essential for agriculture and for protecting the integrity of ecological systems. Natural areas contain many nonnative plant species that occur as self-sustaining populations in the continental United States, including medusahead. As of 2005, medusahead infested approximately 972,700 acres (3,936 km2) in the 17 western states (from North Dakota south to Texas and west to the Pacific coast), and spreads at an average rate of 12% per year. As medusahead spreads, it can outcompete native vegetation in overgrazed rangelands, reduces land value, and creates a wildfire hazard.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Eukaryota

Streptophyta

Magnoliopsida

Poales

Poaceae

Taeniatherum

caput-medusae

Unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Taeniatherum caput-medusae
c
(c) artfulalf@BY-NC
Taeniatherum caput-medusae
c
(c) Aleksandr Ebel@BY-NC
Taeniatherum caput-medusae
c
(c) יאיר אור@BY-NC-SA
Taeniatherum caput-medusae
c
(c) Amelia Ryan@BY-NC
Taeniatherum caput-medusae
c
(c) Fred Melgert / Carla Hoegen@BY-NC

Morphological Features

No morphological description available.

Host Plants (0 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

No host plants available.

Quarantine Status (2 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Argentina Absent 2019
Brazil Absent 2018

Distribution (41 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

41
Present
0
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Albania Present —
Algeria Present —
Armenia Present —
Australia Present —
Azerbaijan Present —
Belgium Present —
Bulgaria Present —
Canada Present —
Switzerland Present —
Chile Present —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

Download CSV

Genomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No genome records available.

Transcriptomes (2 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Run ID Tissue Developmental Stage Sex Read Count Location Actions
SRR3938606 65 % inflorescence/15% leaves/20% grain - - 17361496 France
SRR23873615 mix of flower and leaf flowering - - Turkey

DNA Barcodes (12 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

Process ID BIN Marker Length Country Date Lat/Lon Sequence
IBPLT337-24 - trnL-F 396 Portugal 2019-06-07 -
IBPLT337-24 - ITS2 293 Portugal 2019-06-07 -
GBVY3255-14 - rbcL 550 - - -
GBVY3254-14 - rbcL 546 - - -
GBVR2306-13 - rbcL 1387 - - -
GBVD4792-11 - matK 1536 - - -
GBVD4791-11 - matK 1536 - - -
GBVD4790-11 - matK 1536 - - -
GBVD4789-11 - matK 820 - - -
GBVD4788-11 - rbcL 1389 - - -
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Literature