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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Home / Terrestrial Invasives / Terrestrial Plants / Medusahead

Medusahead

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Medusahead
Medusahead - Photo by Steve Dewey; Utah State University
Scientific Name: 
Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski (ITIS)
Synonym: 
Elymus caput-medusae L.; Taeniatherum asperum(Simonkai) Nevski; Hordeum caput-medusae (L.) Crosson & Durand (ITIS)
Common Name: 
Medusahead, medusa's head, medusahead rye, medusahead grass
Native To: 
Mediterranean Region (Archer 2001)
Date of U.S. Introduction: 
First discovered in 1887 (DiTomaso et al. 2008)
Means of Introduction: 
Introduced as a seed contaminant (DiTomaso et al. 2008)
Impact: 
Crowds out native species and forage for livestock (Archer 2001)

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Images

Videos

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Medusahead.

Council or Task Force
Fact Sheet: Medusahead (Jan 2014) (PDF | 759 KB)
Alberta Invasive Plant Council (Canada).
See also: Fact Sheets for more information about individual invasive species, including those listed as "Prohibited Noxious" and "Noxious" under the Alberta Weed Control Act
Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands - Taeniatherum caput-medusae

California Invasive Plant Council.

In online book: Bossard, C.C., J.M. Randall, and M.C. Hoshovsky (Editors). 2000. Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands. University of California Press. Berkeley, CA
Partnership
Limiting Medusahead Invasion and Impacts in the Great Basin (2015) (PDF | 1.72 MB)

Sage Grouse Initiative. Great Basin Factsheet Series.

Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States - Medusahead
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Invasive Species Compendium - Taeniatherum caput-medusae
CAB International.
Federal Government
Cheatgrass and Medusahead

DOI. USGS. Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center.

Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) - Taeniatherum caput-medusae
USDA. FS. Rocky Mountain Research Station. Fire Sciences Laboratory.
PLANTS Database - Medusahead
USDA. NRCS. National Plant Data Center.
U.S. National Plant Germplasm System - Taeniatherum caput-medusae

USDA. ARS. National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN-Global.

State and Local Government
Agricultural Brochure - Medusahead (PDF | 183 KB)
Plumas-Sierra Noxious Weeds Management Group (California).
See also: Agricultural Brochures for more species
Encycloweedia: Data Sheet - Medusahead
California Department of Food and Agriculture.
See also: Included on California's noxious weed list; see Encycloweedia: Program Details for additional resources
Medusahead

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Noxious Weed Species - Medusahead
Colorado Department of Agriculture. Conservation Services Division. Noxious Weed Program.
Academic
Medusahead Management Guide for the Western States (2014) (PDF | 6.17 MB)

University of California. Weed Research and Information Center.

Medusahead (Nov 13, 2013)

Washington State University. Whitman County Extension.

CropWatch - Detecting Invasive Species: Medusahead

University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Professional
Noxious Weed Information - Medusahead
Colorado Weed Management Association.

Citations