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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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| WESTERN PANICGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Dichanthelium acuminatum var. fasciculatum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Western panicgrass grows as tall as 70 cm from a fibrous roots system. These plants are densely tufted and the stems are spreading or ascending. The nodes are densely hairy. The internodes are purplish or olive to yellowish-green in colour. The basal rosettes are easily distinguished from the stem leaves. The leaves and the sheaths have hairs with swollen bases. The ligule is a tuft of hairs. The inflorescence is branched and is hairy along the central axis. The spikelets are up to 2 mm long. The lower florets in the spikelets are sterile. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Western panicgrass grows in dry, sandy open woods and clearings and exposed rock outcrops. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is widespread in Saskatchewan and is found in the Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Churchill River Upland, Athabasca Plain, and Tazin Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Western panicgrass is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan and most local populations are small. No threats are known or anticipated for this species at the present time. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WESTERN PANICGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are the internodes purplish, olive or yellowish-green? * Are the lowest florets sterile? * Is the ligule a tuft of hairs? * Did you find in a wooded region of Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found western panicgrass! | |||||||||
