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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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| SWITCHGRASS | ||
| LATIN NAME: Panicum virgatum var. virgatum | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Switchgrass grows as tall as 3 m and has long, hard rhizomes with overlapping scales. The stems are solitary or tufted and have green or purplish internodes. The leaves are up to 60 cm long and are ascending or spreading. The leaf sheaths are longer than the internodes and are white to purplish in colour. The spikelets are in a branched cluster. The spikelets are hairless and pointed at the tip with the lower florets being male-flowered. The glumes are membranous and hairless. Both the lemmas and the glumes lack awns. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Switchgrass grows in moist meadows. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This plant is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Switchgrass is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. It is restricted to one general region of the province and most local populations are small. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SWITCHGRASS | ||
| * Are the older plants nearly hairless? * Are the ray flowers orange-yellow and 6 to 10 mm long? * Are the basal leaves entire, except for a few rounded teeth at the rounded tip? * Did you find it in a dry hillside, open woods, or in a disturbed area in northern or central Saskatchewan? | ||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found switchgrass! | ||
