Lolium multiflorum

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) — the fastest-establishing ryegrass for quick forage, green-manure leys and rapid soil cover.

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Lolium multiflorum — Italian ryegrass

Lolium multiflorum is the botanical name for Italian ryegrass, the fastest-establishing of the ryegrasses and a mainstay of quick forage and soil-building sowings. It is the species behind much of our ryegrass range within the wider grass collection.

History & origin

Italian ryegrass takes its common name from northern Italy, where it was selected and popularised as a vigorous, short-lived forage grass before spreading across European farmland. The genus name Lolium is the classical Latin word for a rye-like grass, while the species name multiflorum means “many-flowered,” describing its dense, many-spikeleted seedheads.

Botanical characteristics

A fast, tufted annual or short-lived grass, Italian ryegrass produces glossy, bright-green leaves and tall flowering stems topped with long, awned spikes. It grows rapidly and yields heavily, which makes it valued both as nutritious forage and as a quick-cover crop — qualities that place it among our green manures and cover crops.

Growing Lolium multiflorum from seed

Italian ryegrass is wonderfully easy and quick. Sow shallowly into a firm, moist seedbed and it germinates within days, knitting bare ground into dense green cover in a single season. Keep the surface from drying while it establishes, and cut or graze to keep it productive — our soil preparation guide covers the groundwork.

Ready to grow Italian ryegrass? Browse the ryegrass range or learn the basics first.

Related categories: Ryegrass · Grass · Green Manures · Cover Crops

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What is Lolium multiflorum?
It is the botanical name for Italian ryegrass, a fast-growing, short-lived grass grown for nutritious forage and as a quick cover crop or green manure. How is Italian ryegrass different from other ryegrasses?
It is the fastest to establish and the heaviest-yielding, but shorter-lived than perennial ryegrass — ideal for short-term forage and rapid green cover rather than long-lasting lawns. How quickly does it germinate?
Very quickly — often within days in a firm, moist seedbed — knitting bare ground into dense green cover in a single season. What does the name multiflorum mean?
It means “many-flowered” in Latin, describing the dense, many-spikeleted seedheads carried on its tall flowering stems.