Vulpia elliotea
{{short description|Species of grass}}
{{speciesbox
|image =
|image_caption =
|taxon = Vulpia elliotea
|authority = (Raf.) Fern.
|synonyms = Vulpia sciurea
}}
Vulpia elliotea, known by the common name sand fescue or squirreltail fescue, is an annual grass native to the southeastern United States. Its specific epithet elliotea is named for its discoverer, Stephen Elliott.
Description
Vulpia elliotea is an erect grass, growing up to {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}} in height. Its leaf sheaths are glabrous, and its blades are typically glabrous though they can be scabrous above. The involute blades are {{convert|0.5-1.5|mm|abbr=on}} wide. The inflorescence is {{convert|10|cm|abbr=on}} long. The erect panicle has ascending spikelets {{convert|4-5|mm|abbr=on}} long. The first glume is {{convert|2|mm|abbr=on}} long; the second glume is {{convert|3.5|mm|abbr=on}} long. The typically pubescent lemmas are {{convert|2-3.5|mm|abbr=on}} long, and the awns are two to four times as long. The grass flowers from May to June.{{cite book |title=Gray's Manual of Botany |author= Merrit Lyndon Fernald |year= 1970 |editor= R. C. Rollins |publisher= D. Van Nostrand Company |edition= Eighth (Centennial) - Illustrated|isbn= 0-442-22250-5 |page= 108}}
Distribution and habitat
Vulpia elliotea grows in dry, sandy prairies from New Jersey to Texas, up to southern Illinois and Missouri.{{cite book |title= Grasses |isbn= 9780809323593 |year= 2002 |publisher= Southern Illinois University Press |author= Robert H. Mohlenbrock |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=w0dP_w0yG5gC |page= 331}}