Real sheep fescue

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Real sheep fescue
Real sheep fescue (Festuca ovina), illustration

Real sheep fescue ( Festuca ovina ), illustration

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Genre : Fescue ( festuca )
Type : Real sheep fescue
Scientific name
Festuca ovina
L.

The real fescue fescue ( Festuca ovina s. Str.), Also known as real fescue or common fescue , belongs to the species group of sheep fescue ( Festuca ovina agg.) Within the sweet grass family (Poaceae).

description

Vegetative characteristics

The real sheep fescue is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 5 to 30, sometimes up to 60 centimeters. It forms dense, fresh-green mostly unripened, at most greyish clumps . Renewal shoots only grow up within the lower leaf sheaths, so that the real sheep fescue remains without stolons and rhizomes . The stalks are erect and stiff. Below the inflorescence, the stalks are angular, rough or covered with very short hairs, sometimes smooth.

The leaf sheaths are open to the base and only closed at the base. The smooth leaf sheaths have two small lateral ears at the upper end, which are finely ciliated at the edge. The ligule is a 0.1 to 0.2 millimeter long membranous border. The very thin, hair-like or bristle-like leaf blades are 3 and 25 centimeters long and 0.3 to 0.6 millimeters in diameter, heart-shaped or egg-shaped, sharply and firmly folded in cross-section. The spreader tips are blunt and rough. On the upper side they are hairy or at least rough, but on the underside they are bald. The blade has five vascular bundles , a rib and two furrows on the upper side. The sclerenchymal fibers form a closed, rarely interrupted, evenly thin ring above the lower epidermis .

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends from May to July. The upright paniculate inflorescence is 3 to 12 centimeters long, lanceolate and tightly drawn together and only slightly spread out during flowering. The inflorescence is green, but often tinged with purple. The side branches are single and rough. The spikelet stalks are between 1 and 3 millimeters long. The elliptical to elongated spikelets contain three to nine flowers. The lower lanceolate glume is 2 to 3 mm long and single-nerved. The upper glume is 3 to 4 millimeters long and has three nerves. The rounded lemmas on the back are 2.6 to 4.5 millimeters long and glabrous, rough and five-nerved near the tip. They wear tight, 0.5 to 2 millimeters long awns . The anthers are 2 to 2.5 millimeters long. The ovary is bare.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 14 or 28.

ecology

The real sheep fescue is a hemicryptophyte . The pollination is carried by the wind.

Occurrence and endangerment

The real sheep fescue is a Nordic-Eurasian floral element . It is widespread in northern, western and central Europe as well as in temperate Asia as far as Japan and the People's Republic of China . This species is absent in southern Europe from France to the Balkans . Synanthropic occurrences are found in North America and Australia .

The real sheep fescue usually grows on nutrient-poor, base-poor, well-drained and dry, shallow sandy or loamy soil .

The real sheep fescue is a light to partial shade plant. It grows mainly in sunny mixed oak and pine forests, in clearings or at the edges of the forest as well as on embankments and in heather as well as in poor grassland . The real sheep fescue is considered to be a sign of degeneration and stagnation . The pointer values ​​according to Ellenberg are: L-7, Tx, K-3, Fx, R-3, N-1, S-0b.

The real sheep fescue is socially vague, which means that it occurs in many different plant communities . Often it is with redtop ( Agrostis capillaris ), broadleaf thyme ( Thymus pulegioides ), bristle grass ( Nardus stricta ) 's Small Sorrel ( Rumex acetosella ), heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) and the ordinary wing gorse ( sagittal Chamaespartium associated).

Knowledge of the distribution of the real sheep fescue in Germany is still insufficient, so that it is difficult to assess the risk. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg the real sheep fescue is listed as endangered on the red list of endangered vascular plants (hazard category 3). It is considered safe throughout Germany.

use

The real sheep fescue mostly occurs in extreme locations, where more demanding forage grasses no longer thrive and cannot be displaced by them. Even sheep are reluctant to eat it. The hay is also considered to be inferior. The sheep fescue hampers the exchange of water and air in the soil with its dense stance and poorly decomposable residues. However, it is recommended as an undergrass for sunny, dry locations on nutrient-poor soils. The type in seed mixtures is also important for stabilizing the ground on dry slopes and embankments.

Common names

For the real sheep fescue, the other German-language trivial names exist or existed : Falk ( Carinthia ), Hartgras ( Silesia ), Lulch ( East Prussia ), Schafschwingel (Silesia) and Schwingel.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. Jürgen Dengler: Standard list of the narrow-leaved fescue clans (Festuca ovina agg. And F. rubra agg.) In Germany. , Version of March 6, 2000 PDF.
  2. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . 8th edition. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001. ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 . Pages 212–213.
  3. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, page 151. ( online ).

literature

  • Henning Haeupler, Thomas Muer: picture atlas of the fern and flowering plants of Germany . Ed .: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (=  The fern and flowering plants of Germany . Volume 2 ). Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3364-4 .
  • Charles Edward Hubbard: Grasses. Description, distribution, use (=  UTB . Volume 233 ). 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1985, ISBN 3-8001-2537-4 (English: Grasses . Translated by Peter Boeker).
  • Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: The flowering plants of Central Europe. Volume 2: Yew plants to butterfly plants . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-440-06192-2 .
  • Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora . With the collaboration of Theo Müller. 7th, revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1994, ISBN 3-8252-1828-7 .
  • Oskar Sebald, Siegmund Seybold, Georg Philippi, Arno Wörz (eds.): The fern and flowering plants of Baden-Württemberg . tape 7 : Special part (Spermatophyta, subclasses Alismatidae, Liliidae part 1, Commelinidae part 1): Butomaceae to Poaceae . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3316-4 , pp. 425-427 .
  • Heinz Ellenberg , HE Weber, R. Düll, V. Wirth, W. Werner, D. Paulißen: Pointer values ​​of plants in Central Europe. Scripta Geobotanica 18, Verlag Erich Goltze, 1992. ISBN 3-88452-518-2 .

Web links

Commons : Real Sheep Fescue ( Festuca ovina )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files