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Koeleria macrantha

(June Grass Koeleria Macrantha)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

June Grass Koeleria Macrantha, Crested Hair Grass, June Grass, Junegrass, Prairie June Grass, Prairie Junegrass

Description

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Genus Koeleria

Perennials , tufted , sometimes shortly rhizomatous . Culms unbranched. Leaf sheaths of tillering leaves usually closed ; leaf blades mainly basal, narrow, flat, or inrolled and filiform to setaceous ; ligule membranous. Inflorescence a dense spikelike panicle, shining; branches short, erect , hispidulous to woolly . Spikelets with 2 to several florets ; rachilla puberulous or glabrous , disarticulating below each floret; glumes narrow, unequal or subequal , equaling or shorter than florets, strongly keeled , thinly herbaceous, 1-3(-5) -veined, margins broad, hyaline , shining; floret callus small, glabrous or very shortly hairy ; lemmas membranous or papery , strongly compressed , sharply keeled, 3-5-veined, margins hyaline, shining, apex obtuse to acuminate, awnless or with a subapical mucro ; palea subequaling lemma, hyaline, gaping free from lemma margins. Stamens 3. Ovary glabrous. Endosperm sometimes liquid.

About 35 species:temperate regions throughout the world, also on tropical mountains; four species in China.

This is a genus of narrowly defined, closely related species. They provide good forage in mountain steppe .[1]

Physical Description

Species Koeleria macrantha

Perennial , densely tufted ; old basal sheaths papery , persistent around each culm base . Culms stiffly erect , 5-60 cm tall, woolly especially below panicle, 2-3-noded. Leaf sheaths glabrous or pubescent ; leaf blades grayish green, usually rolled, sometimes flat, up to 30 cm, 1-2 mm wide, pubescent or adaxial surface glabrous; ligule 0.2-2 mm. Panicle linear-oblong in outline, 1.5-13 cm, lower part often interrupted and lobed , silvery green or tinged purple; axis and branches woolly. Spikelets 3-7 mm, florets 2-3(-4) ; rachilla hairs less than 0.4 mm or glabrous; glumes slightly unequal, punctate-scaberulous, keel scabrid , lower glume narrowly lanceolate, 1.5-4 mm, upper glume elliptic-oblong, 2.5-5.5 mm, apex acute; lemmas lanceolate, 2.6-5.5 mm, punctate-scaberulous, apex acute, cuspidate , or rarely keel extended up to 0.3 mm into apical mucro ; palea keels ciliolate . Anthers 1.2-2.3 mm. Fl. and fr. May-Sep. [source]

This species has usually been known in the past as Koeleria cristata Persoon, an illegitimate , superfluous name that included the types of two earlier names in its circumscription. It is a highly polymorphic species, widespread in temperate parts of the N hemisphere, to which many infraspecific names have been applied. Variable characters include hairiness, stiffness, rolling and color of the leaf blades, panicle color, and spikelet size and hairiness. These variants are mostly ill-defined, intergrading, and of negligible practical value. [source]

Flowers: Bloom Period: May, June, July, August, September.

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 12-18" tall.

Habitat

Mountain slopes , grassland, roadsides; sea level to 3900 m (Ref. 101583).

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,715 meters (0 to 12,188 feet).[2]

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 9-12" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 7.6 • Maximum pH: 9.0

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Aira macrantha Ledebour • K. poiformis Domin; K. Pseudocristata Domin • K. tokiensis Domin. • Koeleria cristata auct. p. p. non Pers. • Koeleria cristata Persoon var. poiformis (Domin) Tzvelev; K. Cristata Pseudocristata (Domin) Domin; K. Cristata Var. pseudocristata (Domin) P. c. Kuo & Z. L. Wu; K. Gracilis Persoon • Koeleria cristata var. longifolia Vasey Ex Burtt-Davy • Koeleria cristata var. macrantha (Ledeb.) Griseb. • Koeleria cristata var. pinetorum Abrams • Koeleria gracilis Pers. • Koeleria nitida Nutt. • Koeleria pyramidata auct. p. p. non (Lam.) Beauv. • Koeleria yukonensis Hultén • Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint Pétersbourg • Sér. 7

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Koeleria

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 7 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

K. argentea (Silver Hairgrass Koeleria Argentea) · K. asiatica (Eurasian Junegrass) · K. asiatica atroviolacea (Eurasian Junegrass) · K. atroviolacea atroviolacea (Eurasian Junegrass) · K. brevis (Blue Hairgrass Koeleria Brevis) · K. glauca (Large Blue Hair Grass Koeleria Glauca) · K. macrantha (June Grass Koeleria Macrantha)

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 February 28, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Zhen-lan Wu & Sylvia M. Phillips "Koeleria". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 1, 282, 316, 330. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Mean = 249.650 meters (819.062 feet), Standard Deviation = 465.060 based on 7,343 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012