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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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| AMERICAN MILLETGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Milium effusum var. cisatlanticum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| American milletgrass grows as tall as 100 cm. This plant has both a fibrous root and a short rhizome. The stems are tufted and are often bent at the base. The leaves are flat and hairless. The inflorescence is pyramid-shaped and the branches are in pairs. The glumes are rough-hairy and have three nerves. The lemma and the palea are dark and leathery. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| American milletgrass grows in moist open woods and clearings. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in east-central Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| American milletgrass is endangered because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted to one location, but is locally numerous. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY AMERICAN MILLETGRASS | |||||||||
| * Is the lemma awnless? * Are the lemma and the palea dark and leathery? * Are the stems bent at the base? * Did you find in east-central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found American milletgrass! | |||||||||
