Safety note: Long awns can become embedded in eyes, mouth, and skin of livestock and pets.
Foxtail Barley is a native grass of disturbed areas, alkaline flats, and roadsides, producing beautiful silky, nodding seed heads in pink and silver that shimmer in the wind. While visually attractive, its barbed awns can injure livestock and pets. It provides seeds for prairie birds but is considered a problem species in pastures.
Habitat
Disturbed areas, roadsides, and alkaline grasslands across North America
Diet
Seeds eaten by sparrows and horned larks
How common
Common
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