Agrostis avenacea

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Genus Agrostis

Annuals or perennials , tufted or sometimes with rhizomes or stolons. Leaf blades linear to filiform or setaceous , flat or rolled; ligule membranous. Inflorescence a panicle, open to contracted or spikelike. Spikelets with 1 floret, small, often gaping , without rachilla extension ; rachilla disarticulating above glumes ; glumes persistent , longer than floret, subequal or lower a little longer, membranous, 1-veined, apex subacute to acuminate; floret callus glabrous or shortly pilose ; lemma oblong to elliptic , thinner than glumes, often hyaline , 5-veined, rounded on back, glabrous or hairy , lateral veins sometimes excurrent, awnless or awned from back, apex truncate or toothed ; awn usually geniculate , sometimes weakly so or straight when short; palea shorter than lemma, sometimes very small. Stamens 3. Caryopsis oblong, sulcate on ventral side.

About 200 species:temperate and cold regions of the N hemisphere, also on tropical mountains; 25 species (eight endemic) in China.

The genus includes some good fodder and lawn plants .

Some species are superficially very similar, and correct identification depends on careful observation of spikelet details. It is also important to collect the basal parts to show the presence or absence of rhizomes and stolons. When the palea is long it is normally obvious, but small paleas usually adhere to the mature caryopsis and may appear to be absent. The presence or absence of awns is useful for identification, but awned species may have awnless variants , and vice versa, and the position of the awn on the lemma back can also be rather variable.[1]

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,822 meters (0 to 5,978 feet).[2]

Biology

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Agrostis retrofracta Willd. • Calamagrostis avenacea (J. F. Gmel.) W. R. B. Oliv.

Notes

Publishing author : J.F.Gmel. Publication : Systema Vegetabilium 1 1824 (late 1824)

Similar Species

Members of the genus Agrostis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 51 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

A. aequivalvis (Arctic Bentgrass) · A. alascana (Alaska Bentgrass) · A. alba var. major (Black Bent) · A. avenacea (Pacific Bentgrass) · A. blasdalei (Blasdale Bentgrass) · A. blasdalei var. blasdalei (Blasdale Bentgrass) · A. canina (Brown Bentgrass) · A. canina canina (Velvet Bent Grass) · A. capillaris (Brown-Top Bent) · A. capillaris var. aristata (Colonial Bent) · A. capillaris 'Jorvik' (Common Bent 'jorvik') · A. castellana (Bentgrass) · A. clavata (Clavate Bentgrass) · A. clivicola (Coastal Bluff Bentgrass) · A. clivicola var. clivicola (Coastal Bluff Bent Grass) · A. clivicola var. punta-reyesensis (Point Reyes Bentgrass) · A. densiflora (California Bentgrass) · A. elliottiana (Elliot Bentgrass) · A. exarata (Longtongue Bentgrass) · A. exarata var. exarata (Spike Bentgrass) · A. gigantea (Black Bent) · A. hallii (Hall's Bentgrass) · A. hallii var. hallii (Hall's Bentgrass) · A. hendersonii (Henderson's Bentgrass) · A. hooveri (Hoover Bentgrass) · A. howellii (Howell's Bentgrass) · A. humilis (Alpine Bentgrass) · A. hyemalis (Winter Bentgrass) · A. idahoensis (Idaho Bentgrass) · A. idahoensis var. idahoensis (Idaho Bentgrass) · A. longiligula var. longiligula (Longtongue Bentgrass) · A. mertensii (Arctic Bentgrass) · A. microphylla (Small-Leaf Bentgrass) · A. microphylla var. microphylla (Smallleaf Bentgrass) · A. muelleriana (He'u-Pueo) · A. nebulosa (Bentgrass) · A. oregonensis (Oregon Bentgrass) · A. pallens (Leafy Bentgrass) · A. perennans (Autumm Bentgrass) · A. pringlei (Pringle's Bentgrass) · A. rossiae (Mountain Bentgrass) · A. sandwicensis (Hawai'i Bentgrass) · A. scabra (Hairgrass) · A. scabra var. scabra (Rough Bentgrass) · A. stolonifera (Carpet Bentgrass) · A. stolonifera palustris (Creeping Bent Grass) · A. stolonifera var. stolonifera (Creeping Bentgrass) · A. tandilensis (Kennedy's Bentgrass) · A. variabilis (Mountain Bentgrass) · A. vinealis (Brown Bentgrass) · A. vinealis vinealis (Brown Bentgrass)

More Info

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Further Reading

• California fish and game. [San Francisco, etc.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game. url p. 329.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 48 2003 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 194, p. 261, p. 419, p. 48.
• Flora of Japan: in English: combined, much revised and extended translation / by the author of his Flora of Japan (1953) and Flora of Japan, Pteridophyta (1957); edited by Frederick G. Meyer and Egbert H. Walker. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1965. url p. 143.
• Journal of ethnobiology. 15 1995 Flagstaff, Ariz.: Center for Western Studies, 1981- url p. 227.
• Leaflets of western botany. San Fransisco:[J. T. Howell], 1932-1966. url p. 162.
• Manual of the New Zealand flora. By T. F. Cheeseman. .. Wellington, N. Z., J. Mackay, Govt. Printer, 1906. url p. 868.
• Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. Sydney, Linnean Society of New South Wales. url p. 146, p. 155, p. 232, p. 245, p. 246, p. 252, p. 3, p. 383, p. 48, p. 60, p. 61, p. 62.
• The Natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island / edited by Carl Skottsberg. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri, 1920-1956. url p. 769.
• The subantarctic islands of New Zealand. Reports on the geo-physics, geology, zoology, and botany of the islands lying to the south of New Zealand, based mainly on observatiohs and collections made during an expedition in the government stea Ed. by Chas. Chilton. Pub. by the Philosophical institute of Canterbury. Wellington, N.Z., Printed by J. Mackay, govt. printer, 1909. url p. 474.
• Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. Wellington: New Zealand Institute. url p. 127.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 28, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 8 providers.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Dec 27, 2011.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

• Berkeley Natural History Museums: University and Jepson Herbaria DiGIR provider
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum: Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
• GBIF-Sweden: Herbarium of Oskarshamn (OHN)
• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (Costa Rica): Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
• Missouri Botanical Garden
• National Herbarium of New South Wales: NSW herbarium collection
• National Herbarium of New South Wales: Plants of Papua New Guinea
• UK National Biodiversity Network: Botanical Society of the British Isles - Vascular plant data for Scottish Vice-counties (VCs 80, 84, 103 & 104)
• UK National Biodiversity Network: Botanical Society of the British Isles - Vascular Plants Database
• USDA PLANTS: USDA PLANTS Database

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2660737
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-40405
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 4490920
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:95857-3
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 95857-3
• MoBot NameID: 25501926
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1154820

Footnotes

1. Sheng-lian Lu & Sylvia M. Phillips "Agrostis". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 317, 340, 348, 349, 351, 353, 358, 359, 361. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Mean = 329.600 meters (1,081.365 feet), Standard Deviation = 472.270 based on 77 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.