LEC 10

LOCAL FLORA – Lecture 10Dr. Donald P. Althoff

GrassesPart II

Common Characteristics& Classifications

Barnyard grass Witchgrass

Johnsongrass Foxtail

Kingdom Division Class Order Family Subfamily TRIBE

PlantaeMagnoliophyta (Anthrophyta)

Liliopsida-moncots

?...>16 grasses

Cyperales ____________

End in -____But not exclusively

Tribes (some)

• Andropogoneae • Aristideae• Arundineae • Aveneae • Centotheceae • Chlorideae • Danthonieae

• Eragrosteae• Oryzeae • Paniceae• Poeae• Triticeae

TRIBE: Andropogoneae• Big bluestem• Little bluestem• _____________

__________• Indiangrass• _____________• Eastern gamagrass• Stiltgrass

Japanese stiltgrass Deer

tongue

note “lines” onmidvein of leaf blade

***Found on Rio Baby Moose Hill

Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) • USDA site: Nepalese browntop ( MIVI )• Also known as Chinese packing grass• Family: Poaceae• Annual grass• Well adapted to low light conditions (aka shade

tolerant)

TRIBE: Aristideae

• Curly threeawn• Threeawn• Prairie threeawn• Purple threeawn

TRIBE: Arundineae

• Giant reed• Common reed

(Phragmites)

TRIBE: Aveneae

• Bent grass• Winter bent grass• Wild oats (a)• Cultivated oats (a)

TRIBE: Centotheceae

• Indian woodoats• Broadleaf woodoats• Narrowleaf

woodoats

TRIBE: Chorideae

• Sideoats grama• _____ grama• _____ grama• Buffalo grass• Windmill grass• Bermuda grass

TRIBE: Danthonieae• Poverty grass (very short)

(poverty oatgrass)

• Does well on sitesthat have ______

soils…hencename.

TRIBE: Eragrosteae

• Goosegrass (a)• Stinkgrass (a)• Purple lovegrass• Tall dropseed

(composite)• Purple (red) top greasegrass

TRIBE: Oryzeae

• Rice cutgrass• Whitegrass

Silicaceous barbs on stems…”the cutting”

capability

TRIBE: Paniceae (page 1)

• Crabgrass (a)• Barnyard grass• Redtop panicum• Switchgrass

TRIBE: Paniceae (page 2)

• (Marsh) bristlegrass• Green bristle grass

(green foxtail, nodding foxtail, etc.

foxtails (a)

TRIBE: Poeae (page 1)

• Soft brome (a)• Field brome (a)• Cheatgrass (a)• Orchardgrass• Tall fescue

TRIBE: Poeae (page 2)

• Ryegrass (a)• Annual bluegrass (a)• Kentucky bluegrass• Smooth brome

TRIBE: Triticeae

• Western wheatgrass• Canada wildrye• Rye (a)

Cool Season Grasses

• Kentucky bluegrass• Annual bluegrass• Tall fescue• Canada wildrye• Soft brome (a)• __________________________ (a)• _______________ (a)• Orchardgrass• Tall fescue

• Timothy• Woodoats• Wild oats (a)• Cultivated oats (a)• Western wheat

Warm Season Grasses (page 1)

• Indiangrass• Big bluestem• Little bluestem• Switchgrass• Buffalograss• ______________• E. gamagrass• Bermuda grass• Poverty grass

• Bromesedge• Threeawns• Giant Reed• Common Reed• Bentgrass• Sideoats grama• Blue grama• Hairy grama

Warm Season Grasses (page 2)

• Rice cutgrass• ___________• Barnyard grass• Redtop panicum• Bristlegrass• Goosegrass• Stinkgrass• Purplelove grass

• Tall dropseed• Purple (red) top• Whitegrass• __________

________ vs. ________ GrassIntroduced vs. Native

Timothy

Rye grassIndiangrassTall fescuesod-formingbunch grass

Smooth brome

Reed canarygrass

_________

• Sod-forming grasses with extensive _________: smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis)

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis)quackgrass (Agropyron repens)

prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata) foxtail muhly (Muhlenbergia

andina)Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense)

redtop (Agrostis alba).

• Sod-forming grasses with short ____________: tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae)side-oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans).

Sod-formingA

B

Sod-forming….

________ground

A B

Sod-forming…con’t• Sod-forming grasses with extensive __________:

bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) bentgrasses (Agrostis spp.)

buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides).

C

Sod-forming….continued

_______ ground

C

Bunch-forming• Bunchgrasses - chiefly ________________________:

perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata)little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus)

• Bunchgrasses - reproducing _____________________: timothy (Phleum pratense)

tall oatgrass (Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum).

The adventitious buds of bunchgrasses are found on the basal nodes in crown tissue and produce new tillers which remain within the surrounding leaf sheath of the mother stem.

Reproduce vegetatively from adventitious buds on corms--corms are thickened, bulbous internodes which form in crown tissue, serving as storage organs.

D

E

Bunch-forming….

tillers from crown region

D

Bunch-forming….

corms from crown region

E