It is sometimes confused with foxtail barley, but has awns that are longer, stiff and barbed. One of the most problematic annual grass weeds in California and the western United States is medusahead, which is estimated to infest about 1 million ha in the 17 western states (Duncan and Clark 2005). 2011 Steve Matson. Medusahead is an invasive annual grass. Medusahead produces tillers but few leaves. Cal-IPC rating: High. Siskiyou. Plants grow from 8 inches to 2 feet tall, depending on the site. Like another troublesome annual grass, cheatgrass, medusahead initiates growth early in the growing season, reducing moisture for perennial grass species. r- Furthe more, mature medusahead seeds have long, stiff, sharp, barbedawns, which discourage seed pred a- tion. Once it dominates a … 1961). ture (George 1992; Lusk et al. 2019 Jennifer Mo. Medusa head. Elymus caput-medusae, a monocot, is an annual grass that is not native to California; it has been naturalized in the wild. Lewis Reed explains his project to control the exotic and invasive Medusa Head grass at Sycamore Grove Regional Park in Livermore, California. Medusa-head grass The High Desert Chapter has been assisting the Crooked River National Grasslands of the Ochoco National Forest with a special project to help understand how to control medusa-head invasive grasses on the Grasslands. Stems are wiry and slender. Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski), is a cool-season annual grass native to the Mediterranean region. It's a Mediterranean grass accidentally brought to the Western U.S. in the 1880s. 2019 Ron Vanderhoff. It matures after most other annual vegetation has senesced. In the western United States, it decreases shrub/perennial grass ecosystems and native vegetation, shifting it to an... Reduces the value of grazing lands by more than 80%. Due to the high silica content, particularly once seed is set (Murphy and Turner 1959), medusahead is of little value in livestock production and wildlife habitat. Invasive annual grasses, such as cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum) and medusahead ( Taeniatherum caput-medusae), are one of the most significant stressors to rangeland ecosystems in the western U.S. Their expansion and dominance across this area are the most damaging ecosystem agents on … It is typically 6 to 20 inches tall with distinct bristly seed heads. (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) It invades grasslands, forests, prairies, and disturbed areas such as grazed lands and fields. Researchers at Oregon State University and the Agricultural … Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) is an invasive winter annual grass that grows 6 to 24 inches tall. In Wyoming, was previously found in Sheridan County, and this is the first time it has been identified in Converse County. 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