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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. |
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| PINEGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Calamagrostis rubescens | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Pinegrass grows as tall as 1 m from slender creeping rhizomes. The stems are closely spaced and the leaves are 2 to 4 mm wide. The inflorescence is compact and dense; occasionally, the inflorescence may be interrupted. The inflorescence is pale or purplish in colour. The glumes are hairless and narrow. The hardened thickening below the lemma has two lateral tufts of hairs that are about 1/3 as long as the lemma. The lemma has a bent awn that is usually included in the glumes. The palea is present and is nearly as big as the lemma. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Pinegrass grows in open pine or aspen woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in east-central and southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland, Mid-Boreal Upland, and Mid-Boreal Lowland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Pinegrass is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. No threats are known or anticipated. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY PINEGRASS | |||||||||
| * Does the hardened thickening below the lemma
have hairs in two tufts on the sides? * Is the inflorescence purplish? * Is the awn bent? * Did you find in southwestern or east-central Saskatchewan? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found pinegrass! | |||||||||
