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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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| ONION GRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Melica bulbosa | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Onion grass was given its name for the bulbous swelling underground, which resembles a small onion in shape. These plants grow to about 60 cm tall and spread partially by rhizomes. The rough-hairy leaves are shorter than the stems and are 2 to 4 mm wide. The ligule is membranous. The inflorescence is narrow and branched, with the branches strongly pointing upwards. The spikelets are large and contain two to many florets. The upper florets are usually sterile and are folded over each other. The lemmas are longer than the glumes and are purplish at the tip. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Onion grass prefers wooded slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Onion grass is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is extremely rare and restricted to one small region of the province. In addition, populations of this species are usually sparse. Immediate or probable threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY ONION GRASS | |||||||||
| * Is there a bulbous swelling at the base of the
stem, just underneath the soil? * Is the lemma purplish at the tip? * Are the leaves rough hairy? * Did you find in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found onion grass! | |||||||||
