Which plant is a winter annual grass?

• A. Tamarisk
• B. Jointed Goatgrass
• C. Common Teasel
• D. Houndstongue

Answer: (B)

Winter annual grasses are plants that germinate in fall, survive through the winter, and complete their life cycle by the following spring or early summer, producing seeds before dying. Jointed Goatgrass fits this pattern: it germinates in fall, overwinters as a young grass, then resumes growth in spring and produces seedheads in late spring. It is a true grass, coming from the Poaceae family, which distinguishes it from the others listed.

Tamarisk is a woody shrub, not a grass, so it doesn’t fit the growth form or life cycle. Common Teasel is a biennial or perennial non-grass weed, not a winter annual grass. Houndstongue is a non-grass herb (a biennial or short-lived perennial), also not a winter annual grass.