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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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| CANADIAN RICEGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Piptatherum canadense | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Canadian ricegrass grows as tall as 90 cm from fibrous roots. The stems are tufted and branched at the base. The leaves are flat to inrolled and do not have ear-like lobes at the base of the stem. The florets are in branched clusters at the ends of the stem. The glumes are nearly equal and are one to three-nerved. The lemmas and the thickenings at the base of the lemmas are hairy. The lemmas have twice-bent awns that are 5 to 15 mm long and twisted on the first segment. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Canadian ricegrass grows in sandy, aspen woods and in tall, mixed-grass prairies. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, and Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Canadian ricegrass is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. It is only somewhat regionally restricted in the province and is usually locally numerous within a limited area. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY CANADIAN RICEGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are the lemmas hairy? * Are the flowers in open, branched clusters? * Are the awns twice bent and twisted on the first segment? * Did you find in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Canadian ricegrass! | |||||||||
