| Timothy | |
|---|---|
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| Habitus, ssp. pratense | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Phleum |
| Species: | P. pratense
|
| Binomial name | |
| Phleum pratense | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Timothy[2] (Phleum pratense) is an abundant perennial grass native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It is also known as timothy-grass, meadow cat's-tail or common cat's tail.[3] It is a member of the genus Phleum, consisting of about 15 species of annual and perennial grasses.
It is probably named after Timothy Hanson, an American farmer and agriculturalist said to have introduced it from New England to the southern states in the early 18th century.[4][5][6] Upon his recommendation it became a major source of hay and cattle fodder to British farmers in the mid-18th century.[7]
Timothy can be confused with meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) or purple-stem cat's-tail (Phleum phleoides).
- ^ "Phleum pratense". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
- ^ Clause 5.3.2.2.3 BS 7370-5[full citation needed]
- ^ The Observer's Book of Grasses, Sedge and Rushes by Francis Rose, page 112, 1976, ISBN 0 7232 1533 2, published by Frederick Warne and Co.
- ^ "Timothy Grass". The Louisville Daily Courier. July 9, 1859. p. 4. Retrieved September 20, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., p. 1310.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "timothy grass".
- ^ Reader's Digest Nature Lover's Library Wild Flowers of Britain, p. 430, published 1988
