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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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| FOXTAIL MUHLY | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Muhlenbergia andina | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Foxtail muhly grows as tall as 85 cm from long, scaly rhizomes. The stems are mostly hairless, except for the rough hairs below the nodes. The leaves are thin and rough-hairy underneath. The inflorescence is branched but the branches are pointing upwards making the inflorescence appear spike-like. The glumes are 1-nerved and may or may not have an awn. The lemmas are hairy at the base and have an awn up to 1 cm long. The fruit is a yellowish-brown grain. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Foxtail muhly grows on gravel lake shores and in moist meadows. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in central Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Foxtail muhly is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is extremely rare and has only been found in one location. Immediate threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY FOXTAIL MUHLY | |||||||||
| * Is the inflorescence spike-like? * Are the stems hairless, except for below the nodes? * Do the lemmas have an awn up to 1 cm long? * Did you find in central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found foxtail muhly! | |||||||||
