Polypogon interruptusKunth

ditch rabbitsfoot grass

WFO wfo-0000894689 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 4 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 4 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Kyle Nessen
fig. a Kyle Nessen, CC0 1.0 / 2019-06-22 / obs. 42756538
Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Jim Morefield
fig. b Jim Morefield, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 53263132
Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Millie Basden
fig. c Millie Basden, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 16259712
Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Jim Morefield
fig. d Jim Morefield, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 53263120
Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Millie Basden
fig. e Millie Basden, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 16259702
Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Jim Morefield
fig. f Jim Morefield, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 53263128
Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Amy Huie
fig. g Amy Huie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 15446245
Polypogon interruptus, photographed by Amy Huie
fig. h Amy Huie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 15445713

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 27 botanical countries

Regions where Polypogon interruptus is native: Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela ArizonaCaliforniaColoradoLouisianaMexico CentralMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SouthwestNebraskaNevadaNew MexicoOklahomaOregonTexasUtahWashingtonWyomingArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBoliviaChile CentralChile NorthChile SouthColombiaEcuadorPeruVenezuela
Native distribution of Polypogon interruptus, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
California CAL
Colorado COL
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southwest MXS
Nebraska NEB
Nevada NEV
New Mexico NWM
Oklahoma OKL
Oregon ORE
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Washington WAS
Wyoming WYO
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bolivia BOL
Chile Central CLC
Chile North CLN
Chile South CLS
Colombia CLM
Ecuador ECU
Peru PER
Venezuela VEN

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 11 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 interruptus Poir.
  • Polypogon brachyatherus Phil.
  • Polypogon breviaristatus Phil.
  • Polypogon cachinalensis Phil.
  • Polypogon interruptus var. breviaristatus É.Desv.
  • Polypogon interruptus var. interruptus
  • Polypogon interruptus var. longearistata E.Desv.
  • Polypogon interruptus var. longiaristatus É.Desv.
  • Polypogon littoralis var. interruptus (Kunth) Kuntze
  • Polypogon microstachys Phil.
  • Polypogon tarapacanus Phil.

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.