Foxtail Plant Awn

Foxtail barley one known hazard occurs most commonly in the western states but is now found throughout the united states.

Foxtail plant awn.

Foxtail s usually an annual plant but can be perennial too. These grasses can be found throughout north america and are especially prevalent in the western united states. Thus the foxtail is a type of diaspore or plant dispersal unit. Foxtail is a generic term that s often applied to several species of wild grasses but is specifically associated with a type of wild barley hordeum jubatum that is indigenous to the western united states.

A plant awn that enters the nasal cavity is definitely concerning because it can potentially migrate through the nasal turbinates scroll like structures within the nasal passages and butt up against cribriform plate which is a bony structure that separates the brain from the nasal passages says dr. Foxtail plants are a weed type grass that can cause serious problems for dogs. The applied nomer foxtail describes the bushy cluster of seed awns characteristic of these plants. These weedy grasses form seed pods that dry out and scatter in the summer.

It s a wide leaf blades type of weed similar to the turfgrass. The danger of foxtails goes beyond simple irritation. Like foxtail nimblewill is regarded as a weed and is not purposefully cultivated. The stems grow long spikes of flowers that result in seeds at the end of the season.

They can attach to your dog s coat and burrow into your dog s ears nose and paw pads. Grass awns are the seed pods of certain tall grasses that grow as invasive weeds. Other common names for foxtail type grasses include cheatgrass speargrass bromegrass and needlegrass. The sharp needles on the seed heads of the foxtail plant can also work their way into any part of your dog from the nose to between the toes and inside the ears eyes and mouth.

It grows in any condition moist or dry soil and its very tolerant. They can even simply dig themselves directly into a patch of skin. I m not aware of the ability for a foxtail to penetrate the cribriform plate and enter the brain but i guess one can never say never. Foxtail awns are barbed razor sharp needles designed to burrow into the ground with the seed.

Flourishing in the summer months these annoying weeds are designed to burrow which can lead to pain infection and sometimes more serious issues. A foxtail awn is the sharp barbed seed head of a grassy plant or type of wild barley. Nimblewill is another plant with potentially dangerous awns. Some grasses that produce a foxtail are themselves called foxtail also spear grass.

It is mostly found in the western half of the u s. The foxtail plant is a grass like weed. Common examples of these weeds include foxtail and cheatgrass.