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Phalaris
Also called Canary Grass, Canary Grasses, Canarygrasses
Phalaris is a genus of grasses in the Poaceae family, found on most continents, from wet marshes to dry ground. Its best-known members are grown as forage and pasture, and canary seed (P. canariensis) is grown as birdseed.
Phalaris is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family. Species of Phalaris are distributed across all continents except Antarctica. They can be found in a broad range of habitats from below sea level to thousands of feet above sea level and from wet marshy areas to dry places. P. arundinacea and P. aquatica are sometimes invasive species in wetlands.
Grazing on Phalaris-dominated pastures can cause livestock toxicoses:
Phalaris staggers: A chronic neurological condition associated with ruminants grazing Phalaris containing toxic alkaloids; appropriate cobalt supplementation can reduce the risk of the staggers syndrome.
Phalaris species, particularly Phalaris aquatica and Phalaris arundinacea, are widely cultivated as forage and pasture fodder for livestock. Canary seed (Phalaris canariensis) is commercially grown as bird food and consumed as human food in certain regions. In non-clinical and in vitro research, seed extracts and biopeptides from P. canariensis have been investigated for potential antioxidant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties.
Timothy canarygrass · Bulbous canarygrass · Reed canarygrass · Shortspike canarygrass · Canary grass · Carolina canarygrass · Hood canarygrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phalaris (plant) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
