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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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| GIANT WILDRYE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Leymus cinereus | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Giant wildrye grows to nearly 3 m tall! The stems are strongly tufted and are very robust. The leaves are hairless above and rough hairy below. The inflorescence is longer than the leaves and is unbranched. There are between two and seven spikelets at each node of the spike. Each spikelet contains three to seven flowers. The lemmas are hairless or only slightly hairy and have short awns that are 1 to 3 mm long. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Giant wildrye grows on stream shores and on open, grassy or brushy slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Giant wildrye is threatened because it is rare in Saskatchewan. It is restricted to one general region in the province and most populations are small. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY GIANT WILDRYE | |||||||||
| * Are the stems tall and robust? * Are the lemmas hairless or nearly so? * Are the leaves hairless above and rough hairy below? * Did you find it in southern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found giant wildrye! | |||||||||
