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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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| TUMBLE GRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Schedonnardus paniculatus | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Tumble grass grows as tall as 55 cm from a fibrous root system. The stems are tufted and may be bent and branched at the base. The leaves are rough-hairy with a white, twisted margin. The inflorescence is longer than the leaves and consists of several long, linear, divergent branches of spikelets. The spikelets are one-flowered and attached directly to the central axis. The glumes are unequal and are one-nerved. The lemmas are long-pointed and three-veined. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Tumble grass grows on dry, usually clay or gravel grasslands. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland, Moist Mixed Grassland, and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Tumble grass is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan and local population sizes vary. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY TUMBLE GRASS | |||||||||
| * Is the spikelet awnless? * Are the leaves twisted with white margins? * Do the spikelets have only one flower? * Did you find in southern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found tumble grass! | |||||||||
