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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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| FALSE BUFFALOGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Munroa squarrosa | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| False buffalograss can form mats up to 40 cm wide. The erect stems are only about 15 cm tall and are very branched. The runners are 2 to 8 cm long. The leaves are unique because of the thickened white margin and sharp, pointed tip. The inflorescence is branched and is subtended by leaf-like bracts. The lower spikelets have subequal glumes and the upper spikelets have unequal glumes. In all spikelets, the point of separation at maturity is above the glumes. The lemmas are rough-hairy and have an awn. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| False buffalograss prefers disturbed trailsides and dry plains. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| False buffalograss is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is rare and regionally restricted to one small area. Local population sizes vary. Immediate or probable threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY FALSE BUFFALOGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are the spikelets subtended by leaves? * Are the leaf margins white and thickened? * Are the leaf tips hard and pointed? * Did you find in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found false buffalograss! | |||||||||
