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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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| ARCTIC BLUEGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Poa arctica ssp. arctica | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Arctic bluegrass grows as tall as 50 cm from a well-developed rhizome and a fibrous root system. The stems are densely to loosely tufted and are bent at the base. The leaves are 1.5 to 2.5 mm wide and are flat or folded. There are 10 to 40 spikelets in a lax, open cluster. The spikelets occasionally have sterile florets replacing the fertile ones. The glumes are three-nerved. The lemmas have cobwebby hairs at the base and are hairy on the nerves. The palea is usually hairy on and between the veins. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Arctic bluegrass grows in dry pine forests and clearings. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Athabasca Plain and Churchill River Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Arctic bluegrass is endangered because it is extremely rare and regionally restricted in Saskatchewan. No threats are known or anticipated. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY ARCTIC BLUEGRASS | |||||||||
| * Do the lemmas have cobwebby hairs at the base? * Are the lemma and the palea boat-shaped? * Are the florets lacking awns? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found arctic bluegrass! | |||||||||
