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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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| FERNALD’S FALSE MANNAGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Torreyochloa pallida var. fernaldii | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Fernald’s false mannagrass grows as tall as 50 cm. These plants have rhizomes and the stems are erect to bent at the base. The leaves are flat and as wide as 3 mm. The inflorescence is branched and is cone-shaped in outline. The spikelets contain two to five flowers. The glumes and lemmas are awnless. The lemmas have seven to nine veins; the paleas are two-veined. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Fernald’s false mannagrass grows on wet, sandy beaches and shores of marshy or floating sedge-fens. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Churchill River Upland, Athabasca Plain, and Tazin Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Fernald’s false mannagrass is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. No threats are known or anticipated at the present time. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY FERNALD’S FALSE MANNAGRASS | |||||||||
| *Are the glumes and lemmas without awns? *Is the lemma membranous and 7 – 9-veined? *Do the spikelets have two to five florets? *Did you find in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Fernald’s false mannagrass! | |||||||||
