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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE GRASS FAMILY | |||||||||
| The grass family is economically
and ecologically important. Many of the world’s crops are products
of the grasses. In addition, grasses are represented in almost all terrestrial
ecosystems and are an important part of the natural food chain. The grasses have a set of structures unique to the family. These plants can be annual or perennial and are usually herbaceous. The roots are fibrous, but rhizomes or runners may be found in some species. The stems are solitary or tufted, and may be branched. The stems are round with hollow internodes and solid nodes. The leaves are basal or on the stem. The stem leaves are 2-ranked, meaning they are in two vertical rows and are sheathing at the base. A ligule is present where the leaf sheath and the blade meet. The florets are in spikelets which are then arranged into clusters called spikes, racemes, or panicles. The spikelets usually have two glumes at the base and may be one to several-flowered. Sometimes there are sterile florets, which may consist only of the palea and lemma, present above or below the fertile florets. The florets are usually perfect, meaning that they have both male and female parts. The lemma and palea are the two bracts that subtend each floret. The lemma may be awnless or awned from the tip or the back. Each fertile floret has between one and three stamens and one superior ovary with a feathery stigma. The fruit type is a caryopsis or grain and is unique to the grass family. | |||||||||
| BUFFALOGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Buchloe dactyloides | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Buffalograss is less than 20 cm tall and the plants are connected by runners, to create mats. The stems are hairless on the nodes. The leaves are up to 10 cm long and are longer than the female inflorescences. The male and female inflorescences are usually on separate plants. The male inflorescences are on slender stems and are made of two or three spike-like branches. The female inflorescences are bur-like clusters of spikelets. The lemmas on the female florets are awned. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Buffalograss grows in alkaline or clay soil in ravine slopes and flats. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Buffalograss is endangered because it is extremely rare in Saskatchewan. It is restricted to one region of the province and local population sizes vary. Immediate or probable threats have been identified. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY BUFFALOGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are the female spikelets bur-like? * Are male and female florets on separate plants? * Do the plants have runners? * Did you find in southeastern Saskatchewan? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found buffalograss! | |||||||||
