|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
|||||||||
| 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. |
|||||||||
| SLENDER ROSETTEGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Dichanthelium xanthophysum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Slender rosettegrass grows as tall as 55 cm from knotty rhizomes. The stems are loosely tufted with long internodes. The basal leaves are similar to the stem leaves. The stem leaves are yellowish to bluish-green and are nearly hairless. The leaf bases are rounded or square and the leaves have seven to 11 prominent veins. The sheaths are overlapping on the upper portion of the plant and the ligule is membranous. The inflorescence is narrowly cylindrical and branched. The spikelets are strongly ascending and the lower florets are male. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Slender rosettegrass 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 eastern Saskatchewan in the Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Lowland, and Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Slender rosettegrass is endangered because of rarity in Saskatchewan. It is highly regionally restricted and possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SLENDER ROSETTEGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are the stem leaves and basal leaves similar? * Are the leaf bases square or rounded? * Is the ligule membranous? * Did you find in central or southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found slender rosettegrass! | |||||||||
