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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE DITCHGRASS FAMILY | |||||||||
| The ditchgrass family only has one genus and about 10 species. This is a family of submersed aquatic herbs. The leaves are linear, simple and sessile. The leaf sheaths are often brownish or cream-coloured and may be papery in texture. The flowers are in terminal head-like spikes that turn into umbrella-like spikes in fruit. The inflorescence stalk gets longer and often coils after the flowers have been fertilized. The flowers do not have sepals or petals and are very small. The fruit is one-seeded and slightly fleshy. | |||||||||
| WIDGEONGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Ruppia maritima | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Widgeongrass has a thread-like stem up to 50 cm long. The leaves are often in fan-like clusters. The flowering spikes are head-like with a few, small flowers. The flowers lack sepals and petals and only have two stamens and a simple ovary. In fruit, the inflorescence stalk elongates and coils three or four times. The fruiting cluster is umbrella-like. The fruits are brown or black in colour. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Widgeongrass grows submersed in lakes, ponds or sloughs. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southern and central Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, and Mid-Boreal Lowland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Widgeongrass is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WIDGEONGRASS | |||||||||
| * Do the plants live underwater? * Are the fruiting inflorescences umbrella-like? * Are the inflorescence stalks coiled in fruit? * Did you find it in southern or central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found widgeongrass! | |||||||||
