Foxtail grasses
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Illustration of meadow foxtail ( Alopecurus pratensis , left) |
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The foxtail grasses ( Alopecurus ) are a genus of plants within the sweet grass family (Poaceae). The 36 or so species are distributed worldwide and are also common in Central Europe. The panicle of ears, reminiscent of the tail of a fox , gave them their common German name foxtail grasses. The same motivation is based on the German name of the unrelated foxtail family (Amaranthaceae).
description
Vegetative characteristics
The foxtail species are one- to two-year or perennial herbaceous plants . In the perennial species, the renewal shoots grow up within the leaf sheaths (intravaginally) of the rhizome lower leaves. The culms have several nodes , the lower internodes are sometimes thickened.
The alternately arranged leaves are divided into leaf sheath and leaf blade. The leaf sheaths are more or less grooved, glabrous and open to the base; the lowest leaf sheaths are frayed. The ligule is a membranous border. The leaf blades are rolled or folded in the bud position .
Generative characteristics
The spike-like inflorescences are cylindrical or egg-shaped and contain many flowers close together. The main axis is covered by the spikelets , which are on all sides. The side branches are fused and branched with the main axis. The spikelet stalks are short and widened like a disc at the tip. The spikelets are single-flowered and 2 to 9 mm long. There is no axillary process above the flower. The spikelet is laterally compressed and falls off as a whole at maturity. The glumes are the same and in some species fused to one another over the middle. They have three nerves, are keeled, mostly ciliate on the keel, membranous and hard to maturity. The lemma is equal to or slightly shorter than the glumes. It is fused at the edges of the lower half, enclosing the flower like a tube. On her back she carries an awn in the lower half. This is either kneeled or not kneeled and rough. The palea is absent in many species, including all Central European ones. There are three anthers that protrude from the tip of the floret to flower. The ovary is bald and has two short, often glued-together styluses with long, feathery scars . When the flower is in bloom, the stigmas stick out at the top of the flower. The flowers are strongly proterogynous : the stigmas appear four to six (rarely one to ten) days before the anthers and are cross-pollinated. The field foxtail and some breeds of Meadow Foxtail grass are self-sterile.
The fruit ( caryopsis ) is narrow-elliptical to ovoid and strongly compressed on the sides. The embryo is a quarter to a third as long as the fruit. The navel is point-shaped.
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Systematics
The genus Alopecurus was established by Carl von Linné . The genus name Alopecurus was already used in ancient times. It is made up of the Greek words alopex for fox and oura for tail , so like the common German name it relates to the appearance of the panicle.
The genus Alopecurus belongs to the tribe Aveneae in the subfamily Pooideae within the family Poaceae .
The genus Alopecurus contains about 36 species, 14 of which also occur in Europe. The Grass Base - The Online World Grass Flora of Kew Gardens lists the following ways:
- Red-yellow foxtail grass ( Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. , Syn .: Alopecurus fulvus Sm. ): It is widespread in Eurasia , also in Central Europe, North Africa and North America .
- Alopecurus albovii Tzvelev : It occurs in the Caucasus region.
- Alopecurus anatolicus Doğan : It occurs only in eastern Turkey .
- Alopecurus apiatus Ovcz. : The range extends from northern Iraq to Central Asia and Afghanistan .
- Reed foxtail grass ( Alopecurus arundinaceus Poir. ): It is widespread in Eurasia and is also found in Central Europe . In North America it is a neophyte .
- Alopecurus aucheri Boiss. : It occurs from eastern Turkey to Iran .
- Alopecurus baptarrhenius S.M.Phillips : It only occurs in Ethiopia .
- Alopecurus bonariensis Parodi & Thell. : The home is Argentina and Uruguay .
- Alopecurus borii Tzvelev : It only occurs in Turkmenistan .
- Alopecurus bornmuelleri Domin : The home is the eastern Mediterranean.
- Alopecurus brachystachyus M.Bieb. : The distribution area extends from Siberia to northern China.
- Onion foxtail grass ( Alopecurus bulbosus Gouan ): Home: Coasts of Western Europe, including Central Europe, and the Mediterranean region, Turkey.
- Alopecurus carolinianus Walter : It is native to Canada and the United States.
- Alopecurus creticus Trin. : It occurs on the Balkan Peninsula and Crete .
- Alopecurus dasyanthus Trautv. : The homeland is the Caucasus region to Iran.
- Alopecurus davisii Bor : This endemic occurs only on the island of Samos .
- Black foxtail grass ( Alopecurus geniculatus L. ): It is widespread from Europe, including Central Europe, to Asia. It is a neophyte in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Alopecurus gerardii (All.) Vill. : It thrives in the mountains of southern Europe from the southern Alps to the Pyrenees, Apennines and southern Greece.
- Alopecurus glacialis K. Koch : The distribution area extends from northeast Turkey to Afghanistan.
- Alopecurus goekyigitianus Cabi & Soreng : It was first described from Turkey in 2017.
- Alopecurus heleochloides Hack. : The homeland is central and southern Chile .
- Alopecurus himalaicus Hook. f. : It occurs from Bulgaria to northwestern China and the western Himalayas.
- Alopecurus hitchcockii Parodi : Home is Bolivia , Peru and northwest Argentina.
- Alopecurus japonicus Steud. : The home is China, Japan and Korea .
- Alopecurus laguroides Balansa : It occurs from Turkey to the Caucasus.
- Alopecurus lanatus Sm .: Home is north-western and southern Turkey.
- Alopecurus longiaristatus Maxim. : The distribution area extends from the Chinese province of Heilongjiang to Russian East Asia.
- Alopecurus magellanicus Lam. (Syn .: Alopecurus alpinus Sm. ): It iswidespreadfrom the subarctic to the USA, from Ecuador to southern South America and to the sub-Antarctic islands.
- Alopecurus mucronatus Hack. : The homeland is southern Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan .
- Field foxtail grass ( Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. , Syn .: Alopecurus agrestis L. ); Home: Europe, Asia, North Africa, abducted to North America, Australia and New Zealand
- Alopecurus nepalensis Trin. ex Steud. : It occurs from northwest Pakistan to Central Asia and Nepal.
- Alopecurus ponticus K. Koch : Home is the Caucasus region.
- Meadow foxtail grass ( Alopecurus pratensis L. ): The three subspecies are widespread from northern to central Europe and central Asia to the western Himalayas and Mongolia. The species is also found in the Azores. It is a neophyte in many areas of the world such as North America, Australia and New Zealand .
- Inflated foxtail grass ( Alopecurus rendlei Eig , Syn .: Alopecurus utriculatus (L.) JESm. ): It is widespread from North Africa across South, West and Central Europe to northwest Turkey.
- Alopecurus saccatus Vasey : It occurs from the western USA to northwestern Mexico .
- Alopecurus setarioides Gren. : It occurs from southern Europe to Turkey.
- Alopecurus textilis Boiss. : The distribution area extends from Turkey to Iran.
- Alopecurus turczaninovii O.D. Nikif. : It occurs in Siberia.
- Alopecurus utriculatus Banks & Sol. : It occurs in three subspecies from the eastern Mediterranean to Iran.
- Alopecurus vaginatus (Willd.) Pallas ex Kunth : It occurs in Southwest Asia and the Crimea .
The following natural hybrids are recognized:
- Alopecurus × brachystylus Peterm. → Alopecurus geniculatus × Alopecurus pratensis
- Alopecurus × haussknechtianus Asch. & Graebn. → Alopecurus aequalis × Alopecurus geniculatus
- Alopecurus × marssonii Hausskn. → Alopecurus arundinaceus × Alopecurus geniculatus
- Alopecurus × plettkei Mattf. → Alopecurus bulbosus × Alopecurus geniculatus
- Alopecurus × turicensis Bruges → Alopecurus myosuroides × Alopecurus pratensis
- Alopecurus × winklerianus Ash. & Graebn. → Alopecurus aequalis × Alopecurus pratensis
supporting documents
literature
- Siegmund Seybold (Ed.): Schmeil-Fitschen interactive (CD-Rom), Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2001/2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6 .
- Walter Erhardt et al .: The big pikeperch. Encyclopedia of Plant Names. Volume 2. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7 .
- Hans Joachim Conert: Alopecurus. , Pp. 176-190. In: Gustav Hegi : Illustrated flora of Central Europe. 3rd edition, Volume I, Part 3, Verlag Paul Parey, Berlin, Hamburg, 1985, ISBN 3-489-52220-6 .
- Giles CS Clarke: Alopecurus L. pp. 241-243. In: Thomas Gaskell Tutin et al .: Flora Europaea. Volume 5, Cambridge University Press 1980, ISBN 0-521-20108-X .
Individual evidence
- ^ Manfred A. Fischer , Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 .
- ^ WD Clayton, K. T Harman, H. Williamson: GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. 2006ff. , last accessed December 29, 2014
- ↑ a b c d e f g Siegmund Seybold (Ed.): Schmeil-Fitschen interactive (CD-Rom), Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2001/2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Alopecurus. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved March 4, 2020.
