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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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| RICE CUTGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Leersia oryzoides | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Rice cutgrass grows as tall as 150 cm from long, scaly rhizomes. The stem is only 1 to 3 mm thick. Often, the stems are branched and part of the stem lies on the ground. The leaves are up to 30 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. The inflorescence is branched. The lowest nodes of the inflorescence have two or more branches, while the upper nodes only have one branch. In this species, the glumes are absent and the lemmas and paleas are nearly equal and awnless. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Rice cutgrass grows on muddy river banks. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Rice cutgrass is endangered because it is extremely rare in Saskatchewan and is regionally restricted. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY RICE CUTGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves long, flat, and rough hairy? * Are the glumes absent? * Are the lemmas and paleas awnless? * Did you find it in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found rice cutgrass! | |||||||||
