Phalaris minor
species of plant
Phalaris minor is a species of grass native to North Africa, Europe, and South Asia. The bunchgrass is widely naturalised elsewhere.
Common names include little seed canary grass, small-seeded canary grass, small canary grass, lesser-canary grass, guli danda (Hindi), and sittee booti (Urdu).
Description
Phalaris minor grows as a tufted annual bunchgrass up to 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) in height. It has a spike-like panicle.
Taxonomy
It has had an uneventful taxonomic history. It was first published under its current name by Anders Jahan Retzius in 1783, and has retained that name since. It has no synonyms, and no infraspecific taxa.
Uses
It is used as a fodder or forage for livestock and birdseed, but is poisonous to some mammals, and is a potential contaminant of seed crops.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Phalaris minor” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Phalaris, minor and species, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2022. The linked authority identifier is Q3696206. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1783.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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This entry incorporates text from “Phalaris minor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.