Japanese name: ネズミムギ（鼠麦） Scientific name:Lolium multiflorum
[Overview]
An annual or biennial 0.3–1 m tall.
The whole plant is hairless, and the stem is erect.
Leaves are simple and alternate, linear, 5–20 cm long and about 0.5–1 cm wide.
Leaves before unfolding are rolled into a circle.
A spike-like inflorescence 10–30 cm long is borne, with stalkless spikelets 2–2.5 cm long arranged alternately.
The axis of the inflorescence is rough.
The first glume is present only on the spikelet at the tip of the inflorescence and is reduced in the lateral spikelets.
The spikelets are longer than the second glume, and the lemma bears an awn up to 1 cm long at its tip.
[History]
It was introduced as a forage grass in the early Meiji period and has become naturalized in various places.
[Notes]
It has been designated an Alien Species Requiring Caution under the Invasive Alien Species Act.
It hybridizes with Hoso-mugi.
