Phalaris minorRetz.

Lesser Canary-grasslittleseed canarygrass

WFO wfo-0000889730 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Phalaris minor, photographed by Millie Basden
fig. a Millie Basden, CC BY 4.0 / 2019-03-28 / obs. 33638977
Phalaris minor, photographed by Joe Potter Butler
fig. b Joe Potter Butler, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 5591036
Phalaris minor, photographed by Daniel Cahen
fig. c Daniel Cahen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 183051169
Phalaris minor, photographed by naturewatchwidow
fig. d naturewatchwidow, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 125119742
Phalaris minor, photographed by Joe Potter Butler
fig. e Joe Potter Butler, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 105747510
Phalaris minor, photographed by darmozrac
fig. f darmozrac, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 67023505
Phalaris minor, photographed by Dave Richardson
fig. g Dave Richardson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 62102787
Phalaris minor, photographed by Amy Huie
fig. h Amy Huie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 16405501

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 48 botanical countries

Regions where Phalaris minor is native: Algeria, Canary Is., Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Madeira, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan-South Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Afghanistan, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Gulf States, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, East Himalaya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya, Albania, Baleares, Corse, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Türkiye-in-Europe AlgeriaChadEgyptEritreaLibyaMauritaniaMoroccoSudan-South SudanTunisiaWestern SaharaAfghanistanCyprusEast Aegean Is.Gulf StatesIranIraqKuwaitLebanon-SyriaNorth CaucasusOmanPalestineSaudi ArabiaSinaiTadzhikistanTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanUzbekistanEast HimalayaIndiaNepalPakistanWest HimalayaAlbaniaCorseFranceGreeceItalyKritiNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalSiciliaSpainTürkiye-in-Europe Canary Is.MadeiraBalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Phalaris minor, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Cyprus CYP
East Aegean Is. EAI
Gulf States GST
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Kuwait KUW
Lebanon-Syria LBS
North Caucasus NCS
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
Albania ALB EUROPE
Baleares BAL
Corse COR
France FRA
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
Spain SPA
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Canary Is. CNY
Chad CHA
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Libya LBY
Madeira MDR
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tunisia TUN
Western Sahara WSA
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
India IND
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 30 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Alopecurus otiporensis Griff.
  • Phalaris ambigua Fig. & De Not.
  • Phalaris aquatica var. minor (Retz.) Mutel
  • Phalaris arundinacea var. minor (Retz.) Paunero
  • Phalaris brevis Trin.
  • Phalaris capensis Thunb.
  • Phalaris coerulescens var. minor (Retz.) Mutel
  • Phalaris decumbens Moench
  • Phalaris gracilis Parl.
  • Phalaris haematites Duval-Jouve & Paris
  • Phalaris haematites var. granulosa Sennen & Mauricio
  • Phalaris mauritii Sennen
  • Phalaris minor f. bracteata Jansen & Wacht.
  • Phalaris minor f. composita Jansen & Wacht.
  • Phalaris minor f. glomerata Jansen & Wacht.
  • Phalaris minor f. gracilis (Parl.) Trab.
  • Phalaris minor f. haematites Trab.
  • Phalaris minor f. integra (Trab.) Trab.
  • Phalaris minor f. subcylindrica Jansen & Wacht.
  • Phalaris minor subsp. gracilis (Parl.) Arcang.
  • Phalaris minor var. comosula Heldr.
  • Phalaris minor var. genuina Maire & Weiller
  • Phalaris minor var. gracilis (Parl.) Parl.
  • Phalaris minor var. haematitis Duval-Jouve

and 6 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.