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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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| ALPINE FESCUE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Festuca brachyphylla ssp. brachyphylla | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Alpine fescue grows up to 40 cm tall from fibrous roots. The stems are densely tufted and are much taller than the leaves. The inflorescence is narrow and branched. The spikelets are two to four flowered and are greenish or purplish in colour. The glumes are unequal and are usually shorter than the lemmas. The lemmas are 5-nerved and are bronze or purplish on the back. The lemma awns are 1 to 3 mm long. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Alpine fescue grows on exposed gravel or rocky shores and in open woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Athabasca Plain, Tazin Lake Upland, and Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Alpine fescue is threatened because or rarity in Saskatchewan. It is somewhat regionally restricted in the province but no threats known or anticipated for this species at the present time. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY ALPINE FESCUE | |||||||||
| * Are the stems tufted and less than 40 cm tall? * Are the lemmas 5-nerved with a short awn? * Are the leaves shorter than the stem? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found alpine fescue! | |||||||||
