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Agrostis clavata

(Clavate Bentgrass)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Clavate Bentgrass, Clavate Bent

Common Names in Russian:

Polevitsa Bulavovidnaia

Description

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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

Species Agrostis clavata

Annual or short-lived perennial , loosely tufted . Culms erect or geniculate at base , slender, 30-70 cm tall, 2-4-noded. Leaf sheaths smooth ; leaf blades linear , flat, thin, 6-15 cm × 1-5 mm, both surfaces scabrid ; ligule 1.5-3 mm, back scabrid, apex obtuse or lacerate . Panicle lax , lanceolate to narrowly oblong in outline, 8-25 cm; branches 2-7 at each node, ascending , capillary , 8-15 cm, scabrid, bare in lower 1/3-1/2 or sometimes with spikelets from base. Spikelets 1.5-2.5 mm, yellowish green; glumes lanceolate, subequal , lower slightly longer , keeled , keels aculeate-scabrid, apex acuminate; callus glabrous or nearly so; lemma 2/3-3/4 spikelet length, awnless, apex obtuse; palea to 0.25 mm. Anthers 0.3-0.5 mm. Fl. and fr. summer and autumn. [source]

Agrostis clavata is distinguished by the combination of scabrid leaves and panicle branches, small, pale green spikelets, acuminate glumes, an awnless lemma, and very small palea and anthers. [source]

Agrostis clavata subsp. matsumurae (A. clavata var. nukabo) is often recognized, mainly on the basis of a dense, narrow panicle bearing spikelets from the base of the primary branches. In contrast, subsp. clavata has panicle branches divergent at flowering and bare in the lower 1/3-1/2. However, short, densely spiculate branches are often present at the panicle nodes among the longer, bare-based branches in subsp. clavata, contributing to a denser panicle appearance when frequent. All the panicle branches become erect in the fruiting stage, further blurring the boundary with subsp. matsumurae. It has not been possible to distinguish two subspecies satisfactorily in herbarium material . [source]

Habit: Graminoid

Flowers: Bloom Period: n/a • Flower Color: inconspicuous, none

Habitat

Roadsides, riversides , forest margins , disturbed grassy places, often in moist situations; below 4000 m. [2].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,839 meters (0 to 9,314 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

A. clavata var. nukabo Ohwi • A. formosana Ohwi • A. matsumurae Hackel Ex Honda. • Agrostis clavata auct. non Trin. • Agrostis clavata matsumurae (Hackel Ex Honda) Tateoka • Agrostis exarata Trin. clavata (Trin.) T. Koyama

Notes

Publishing author : Trin. Publication : in Spreng. Neue Entdeck. ii. 55.

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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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

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 14, 2007:

Identifiers

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. "Agrostis clavata". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 341, 344, 345. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 1,064.130 meters (3,491.240 feet), Standard Deviation = 986.010 based on 31 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012