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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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| FALL PANICUM | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Dichanthelium wilcoxianum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Fall panicum grows to 35 cm tall from fibrous roots. The stems are tufted and erect to spreading or drooping. The nodes are hairless and the internodes are purplish-grey. The basal leaves are very similar to the upper stem leaves. The leaf sheaths have hairs with swollen bases. The inflorescence is branched and is nearly as wide as it is long. The spikelets are often reddish in colour and have sterile florets at the base. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Fall panicum grows in sand barrens on dry prairie slopes and hilltops and in open, sandy pine woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in central to southeastern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, and Boreal Transition ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Fall panicum is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan and is almost always locally sparse. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY FALL PANICUM | |||||||||
| * Are the stem leaves and the basal leaves similar? * Do the sheaths have hairs with swollen bases? * Is the ligule a ring of hairs? * Did you find in central or southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found fall panicum! | |||||||||
