Lolium

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Poaceae
Subfamilia: Pooideae
Tribus: Festuceae
Subtribus: Loliinae
Genus: Lolium
Species: L. canariense – L. multiflorum – L. perenne – L. persicum – L. remotum – L. rigidum – L. temulentum
Name

Lolium L., Sp. Pl. 1: 83 (1753).

Type species: Lolium perenne L., Sp. Pl. 1: 83. (1753)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Craepalia Schrank, Baier. Fl. 1: 102 (1789).
Loliola Dubois, Fl. Auvergne, ed. 2: 181 (1800).
Crypturus Link, Linnaea 17: 387 (1844).
Arthrochortus Lowe, Hooker's J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 8: 301 (1856).

References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 83. Reference page.

Links

Clayton, W.D., Vorontsova, M.S., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards) GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. Lolium. Published online. Accessed 24 Sept. 2013.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2013. Lolium in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2013 Sept. 21. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2013. Lolium. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2013 Sept. 21.
International Plant Names Index. 2013. Lolium. Published online. Accessed: 21. Sept. 2013.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2019. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Lolium. .

Vernacular names
беларуская: Жыцік
čeština: Jílek
dansk: Rajgræs
Deutsch: Lolch, Weidelgras
English: Ryegrass
suomi: Raiheinät
français: Ivraie
íslenska: Rýgresi
日本語: ドクムギ属
lietuvių: Svidrė
македонски: Пијанка
Nederlands: Raaigras
Türkçe: Çim

Lolium is a genus of tufted grasses in the bluegrass subfamily of the grass family.[2][3] It is often called ryegrass, but this term is sometimes used to refer to grasses in other genera.

They are characterized by bunch-like growth habits. Lolium is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands. Ryegrasses are naturally diploid, with 2n=14, and are closely related to the fescues (Festuca).[4][5][6][7]

Ryegrass should not be confused with rye, which is a grain crop.
Species

Species of Lolium include:[1][8]

Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh. - Eurasia + North Africa from Portugal + Canary Islands to Himalayas + Xinjiang; naturalized in East Asia, Australia, North + South America, various islands
Lolium canariense Steud. - Canary Islands ryegrass - Canary Islands, Cape Verde
Lolium giganteum Lam. - Eurasia from Ireland to China; Bioko
Lolium × hybridum Hausskn. - Assam, Bhutan
Lolium mazzettianum (E.B.Alexeev) Darbysh. - Sichuan, Yunnan
Lolium multiflorum Lam. - Eurasia + North Africa from Portugal + Canary Islands to Himalayas; naturalized in East Asia, Australia, North + South America, various islands
Lolium perenne L. - perennial ryegrass - Eurasia + North Africa from Azores to Kashmir; naturalized in East Asia, Australia, North + South America, various islands
Lolium persicum Boiss. & Hohen. - Persian ryegrass or Persian darnel - from Socotra to China; naturalized in scattered locations in the United States + Canada
Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh. - Eurasia + North Africa from Iceland + Azores to Kashmir + Yakutia; naturalized in East Asia, Australia, North + South America, various islands
Lolium remotum Schrank - Indian Subcontinent; sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in Europe + northern Asia
Lolium rigidum Gaudin - stiff darnel, Wimmera ryegrass, annual ryegrass - Eurasia + North Africa from Portugal + Canary Islands to China; sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in Australia + Americas
Lolium saxatile H.Scholz & S.Scholz - Canary Islands
Lolium temulentum L. - Darnel, poison darnel - Eurasia + North Africa from Portugal + Canary Islands to China; sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in Australia + Americas

Formerly included

Several former Lolium species now regarded as part of other genera: Castellia, Enteropogon, × Festulolium, Hainardia, Lepturus, Melica, and Vulpia.[1]

Lolium bromoides - Vulpia bromoides
Lolium canadense Michx. ex Roem. & Schult. 1817 not Bernh. ex Rouville 1853 - Melica mutica
Lolium coelorachis - Lepturus repens
Lolium cylindricum (Willd.) Asch. & Graebn. 1901. not K.Koch 1848 - Hainardia cylindrica
Lolium distachyum - Enteropogon monostachyos
Lolium elegans - Castellia tuberculosa
Lolium × festucaceum - × Festulolium loliaceum
Lolium × festucoides - × Festulolium loliaceum
Lolium × grandispicum - × Festulolium braunii

Perennial ryegrass, used as winter lawn.[9]

Poison darnel (Lolium temulentum)

Cultivation and uses

Lolium contains some species which are important grasses for lawns, and as pasture and for grazing and hay for livestock, being a highly nutritious stock feed. Ryegrasses are also used in soil erosion control programs. It is the principal grazing grass in New Zealand where some 10 million kilograms of certified seed are produced every year. There is a large range of cultivars. The primary species found worldwide and used both for lawns and as a forage crop is perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Like many cool-season grasses of the Poaceae, it harbors a symbiotic fungal endophyte, either Epichloë or its close relative Neotyphodium, both of which are members of the fungal family Clavicipitaceae.[10][11]

Some species, particularly L. temulentum, are weeds which can have a severe impact on the production of wheat and other crops. Annual ryegrass (L. rigidum) is one of the most serious and costly weeds of cropping systems in southern Australia, and herbicide resistance is a frequent problem.[12] Ryegrass pollen is also one of the major causes of hay fever. Tennis courts, including those at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the venue for Wimbledon, are planted with ryegrass.[13][14] Glyphosate-resistant Lolium has been reported from Mississippi in 2006.[15]
References

"Lolium". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 83 in Latin
"Lolium". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
Europaea: Lolium
Liu, Liang; Phillips, Sylvia M. "Lolium". Flora of China. 22 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Cope, Thomas A. "Lolium". Flora of Pakistan – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Lolium
The Plant List search for Lolium
Lamson-Scribner, Bill (November 12, 2020). "Horticulture Hotline: To rye or not to rye—it's that lawn season again". Moultrie News. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
Schardl CL, Leuchtmann A, Spiering MJ (2004). "Symbioses of grasses with seedborne fungal endophytes". Annu Rev Plant Biol. 55: 315–340. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.55.031903.141735. PMID 15377223.
Cheplick GP (2011). "Endosymbiosis and population differentiation in wild and cultivated Lolium perenne (Poaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 98 (5): 829–38. doi:10.3732/ajb.1000226. PMID 21613060.
https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/resources/iwmhub/common-weeds-of-cropping/annual-ryegrass
Bletchly, Rachael (24 June 2007). "The Wonders of Wimbledon Fortnight". People. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2009..
"Grass Courts" (PDF). The Championships. Wimbledon. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
"Nandula VK, Poston DH, Eubank TW, Koger CH and Reddy KN, Differential response to glyphosate in Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) populations from Mississippi. Weed Tech 21: 477–482 (2006).doi 10.1614/WT-06-168.1". doi:10.1614/WT-06-168.1. S2CID 86123045.