Timothy (grass)

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Timothy (Phleum pratense) is a species of perennial grass native to most of Europe and northern and western Asia.[2][1] 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, which consists of 17 species of annual and perennial grasses.[4]

It is probably named after Timothy Hanson, a British farmer and agriculturalist said to have introduced it from New England to the southern United States in the early 18th century.[5][6][7] Upon his recommendation it became a major source of hay and cattle fodder to British farmers in the mid-18th century.[8]

Timothy has now become naturalised throughout most of North America, eastern Asia, southern South America, and Australasia.[1]

Description

Timothy grows to 150 cm (59 in) tall, with leaves up to 50 cm (20 in) long and 4–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) broad. The leaves are hairless, rolled rather than folded, and the lower sheaths turn dark brown.[9][10]

It is a tufted grass, with no stolons or rhizomes. The ligule is short and blunt.[9]

The flowerhead is 6–15 cm (2–6 in) long (or more, in some cultivars) and 6–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) broad, with densely packed spikelets, the glumes with a 1–2 mm long awn. It flowers from June until August. The stamens are purple.[9][10]

Timothy can be confused with smaller cat's-tail (Phleum bertolonii); this is most easily distinguished by its acute, not blunt, ligules.[2] Meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) or purple-stem cat's-tail (Phleum phleoides) can also be confused.

It grows well in heavy soil, and is noted for its resistance to cold and drought, and thus ability to grow in dry upland or poor sandy soils. In pasture it tends to be overwhelmed by more competitive grasses. After cutting it grows slowly.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies have been distinguished by some authors, Phleum pratense subsp. pratense, and Phleum pratense subsp. bertolonii on calcareous grassland;[10][11] however, the latter is now generally considered to be a separate species, smaller cat's-tail Phleum bertolonii DC.[1][12][2][13][9]

Ecology

File:Timothee (Phleum pratense subsp. pratense).jpg
Inflorescence

Some caterpillars use it as a food plant, e.g. the Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola) and the marbled white (Melanargia galathea). It also grows in roadsides and abandoned fields but generally requires nutrient-rich soils.

Cultivation and uses

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It is commonly grown for cattle feed and, in particular, as hay for horses. It is relatively high in fibre, especially when cut late. It is considered a harsh, coarse grass little relished by livestock if cut earlier. It is considered part of the standard mix for grass hay and provides quality nutrition for horses. Timothy hay is a staple food for domestic pet rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, and degus, often making up the bulk of their diet. Timothy hay is rich in long fibres and its abrasive texture helps to grind down the teeth, keeping both the teeth and jaw in good order.

Plants persist through the winter. Dead, straw-coloured flowering stems may persist, but only for a short time, and can be recognised by the distinctive spike-like inflorescence.

Timothy was unintentionally introduced to North America by early settlers, and was first described in 1711 by John Hurd from plants growing in New Hampshire. Hurd named the grass "hurd grass" but a farmer named Timothy Hanson began to promote cultivation of it as a hay about 1720, and the grass has been known by its present name since then.

Medical uses

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Timothy grass pollen allergen extract (Phleum pratense)
Clinical data
Trade namesGrazax, Grastek
AHFS/Drugs.comMicromedex Detailed Consumer Information
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administration		Sublingual
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Timothy grass pollen allergen is used to treat hay fever.[18][19][20][21]

Breeding objectives in timothy

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Breeding programs for forage grasses and especially timothy have been focusing on the improvement of dry matter yield, resistance to disease, dry matter digestibility, and nutritional value, which depends on target species and environment. Due to high phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity in individual plants, and the polyploidy of many species, breeding programmes for timothy are accompanied by some difficulties.[citation needed]

Confusion with other species

It is often confused with meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis). Timothy flowers later, from June until August, whereas meadow foxtail flowers from April until June. The spikelets of timothy are twin hornlike projections arranged in cylindrical panicles, whereas foxtail has a soft, single awn.[22]

Purple-stem cat's-tail (Phleum phleoides) prefers lighter soils and grows on chalk downland.

Timothy canary grass (Phalaris angusta), another species with a similar cylindrical panicle, is toxic to livestock.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Template:Cite POWO
  2. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Timothy Phleum pratense L." PlantAtlas. Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  3. ^ The Observer's Book of Grasses, Sedge and Rushes by Francis Rose, page 112, 1976, Template:ISBN, published by Frederick Warne and Co.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Phleum L." Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Timothy Grass". The Louisville Daily Courier. 9 July 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 20 September 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., p. 1310.
  7. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "timothy grass".
  8. ^ Reader's Digest Nature Lover's Library Wild Flowers of Britain, p. 430, published 1988
  9. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Streeter D (2010). Flower Guide. London: Collins. pp. 632–633. ISBN 978-0-00-718389-0.
  10. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Fitter RS, Fitter A (1984). Collins Guide to the Grasses, Sedges, Rushes, and Ferns of Britain and Northern Europe. London: Harpercollins Pub Limited. pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-00-219136-9.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Phleum pratense subsp. pratense". AusGrass2. 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Phleum bertolonii DC". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Smaller Cat's-tail Phleum bertolonii DC". PlantAtlas. Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Prescription medicines: registration of new chemical entities in Australia, 2017". Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 21 June 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Grazax standardised allergen extract of grass pollen from Timothy grass (Phleum pratense) 75,000 SQ-T sublingual tablets blister foil (267955)". Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 26 May 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Prescription medicines and biologicals: TGA annual summary 2017". Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 21 June 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Grastek- timothy grass pollen allergen extract tablet". DailyMed. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barber D, Rico P, Blanco C, Fernandez-Rivas M, Ibañez MD, Escribese MM (2019). "Grazax: a sublingual immunotherapy vaccine for Hay fever treatment: from concept to commercialization". Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 15 (12): 2887–2895. doi:10.1080/21645515.2019.1622976. PMC 6930101. PMID 31157592.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Scaparrotta A, Attanasi M, Petrosino MI, Di Filippo P, Di Pillo S, Chiarelli F (2015). "Critical appraisal of Timothy grass pollen extract Grazax in the management of allergic rhinitis". Drug Design, Development and Therapy. 9: 5897–5909. doi:10.2147/DDDT.S70432. PMC 4639524. PMID 26604688.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kay AB (December 2007). "An extract of Timothy-grass pollen used as sublingual immunotherapy for summer hay fever". Drugs of Today. 43 (12): 841–848. doi:10.1358/dot.2007.43.12.1162079. PMID 18174969.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Nelson HS (November 2014). "Oral/sublingual Phleum pretense grass tablet (Grazax/Grastek) to treat allergic rhinitis in the USA". Expert Review of Clinical Immunology. 10 (11): 1437–1451. doi:10.1586/1744666X.2014.963556. PMID 25340426. S2CID 23698482.
  22. ^ bsbi.org.uk Script error: No such module "webarchive".; description, retrieved 2010-12-1.

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