Foxtails: The Plant NOT the Animal

What You Need to Know About the Foxtail Plant. 

We found an interesting and informative article on foxtails and want to share it with caring pet parents. It was published on The Dogington Post, written by Brand Arnold.

"You've probably seen plenty of foxtails out in nature before; mostly growing in meadows, along roadsides, or in vacant lots, but you may not have known what they were. Foxtails are simply foxtail-like seed clusters usually found on the stalks of some types of grasses. These clusters have sharp points that are designed to penetrate the soil the moment they come loose from the plant, enabling the seed to take hold in the ground and begin to grow roots.

To make sure that seeds take root to the ground, the clusters contain barbs that make it hard for the cluster to come loose from the dirt once it begins to penetrate. The outside part of the cluster also harbors bacteria composed of enzymes that break down cellular matters; thus, helping the seed bury itself into the ground past the other plants. Foxtails cause the most trouble for dogs during the late months of spring and summer seasons, typically in drier climates as this is the time when the seeds come loose from the plant and begin searching for a place to take root. You can find foxtails around the country, but they are most common in the western parts of the US. In fact, the largest occurrence of foxtails is in the state of California. Continue reading...