Vulpia is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to many countries around the world and naturalized in many of the nations to which it is not native. It is most common in temperate regions.

Vulpia is a part of a group of species known as fescues; Vulpia is sometimes considered a subset of the main fescue genus, Festuca. Many of these fescues are considered noxious weeds in many places. Vulpia myuros is a notable weed.

The genus is named for Johann Samuel Vulpius (1760-1846), a German botanist.

1. Species

2. Vulpia alopecuros (Schousb.) Link - western Mediterranean, Canary Is

3. Vulpia alpina L.Liu - Tibet

4. Vulpia antucensis Trin. - Chile, Argentina

5. Vulpia australis (Nees) Blom - South America

6. Vulpia brevis Boiss. & Kotschy - eastern Mediterranean

7. Vulpia bromoides (L.) Gray - brome fescue - Europe, Africa, Arabia; naturalized in Australia, the Americas, various islands

8. Vulpia ciliata Dumort. - Europe, North Africa, central + southwestern Asia; introduced in Australia, New Zealand, Pennsylvania

9. Vulpia cynosuroides (Desf.) Parl. - Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia

10. Vulpia delicatula (Lag.) Dumort. - Portugal, Spain

11. Vulpia elliotea (Raf.) Fernald - squirreltail fescue - southeastern USA (Texas to New Jersey)

12. Vulpia fasciculata (Forssk.) Samp. - western Europe, Mediterranean, Caucasus; introduced in Australia, South Africa

13. Vulpia fontquerana Melderis & Stace - Spain

14. Vulpia geniculata (L.) Link - Mediterranean, Sweden, Britain, Canary Islands, Madeira

15. Vulpia gracilis H.Scholz - Tunisia, Libya

16. Vulpia gypsophila (Hack.) Nyman - Spain, Sicily

17. Vulpia ligustica (All.) Link - Mediterranean

18. Vulpia litardiereana (Maire) A.Camus - Morocco

19. Vulpia membranacea (L.) Dumort. - Mediterranean

20. Vulpia microstachys (Nutt.) Munro - small fescue - western USA, British Columbia, Baja California (incl Guadalupe Island), Peru

21. Vulpia muralis (Kunth) Nees - Mediterranean, Azores, Canary Islands, Balkans, Hungary, Saudi Arabia; introduced in Australia, scattered locales in South America

22. Vulpia myuros (L.) C.C.Gmel. - rat-tail fescue - Africa, Eurasia; introduced in Australia, the Americas, various islands

23. Vulpia octoflora (Walter) Rydb. - widespread in North America; also Chile + Argentina

24. Vulpia pectinella (Delile) Boiss. - North Africa, Middle East from Morocco to Iraq

25. Vulpia persica (Boiss. & Buhse) Krecz. & Bobrov - Asia from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan

26. Vulpia sicula (J.Presl) Link - Mediterranean

27. Vulpia unilateralis (L.) Stace - from Britain to Morocco + Tajikistan

28. formerly included

Numerous species once considered part of Vulpia but now regarded as better suited to other genera: Anthosachne Australopyrum Avellinia Festuca Micropyrum Vulpiella

References