Creeping couch grass

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Creeping couch grass
Creeping couch grass (Elymus repens)

Creeping couch grass ( Elymus repens )

Systematics
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily : Pooideae
Genre : Couch grass ( elymus )
Type : Creeping couch grass
Scientific name
Elymus repens
( L. ) Gould

The crawling couch grass ( Elymus repens ), also known as common couch grass , common couch grass or simply couch grass , is a species of the genus couch grass ( Elymus ) within the sweet grass family (Poaceae). The common name Quecke is derived from queck, quick = "tough". This grass is distributed almost worldwide and is a pioneer plant on almost all soils .

description

clumpy growing specimen
Ear of a creeping couch grass
Stem with unlashed leaf sheath
Ligule
A section of an ear of wheat seen from four directions. Many spikelets sit next to each other on the ear axis.
A single spikelet: at the base of the spikelet there are two glumes (Glu, Gluma), above that on the spikelet axis there are several flowers, each of which is wrapped in a lemma (Lem, Lemma) and a palea (Pal, Palea). The glumes are pointedly pointed or provided with a short awn.
Couch grass rhizome network

Vegetative characteristics

The creeping couch grass is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches stature heights of 50 to 120 (150) centimeters, whereby sterile shoots in particular are very tall. The plants form clumps or, with the help of creeping runners , large spots. The stalks are bare, upright or curved below and have three to five nodes . The limp leaves are green and frosted blue, which can be wiped off. Their simple spreads are 6 to 30 centimeters long, 3 to 5, rarely up to 10 millimeters wide, are flatly ribbed, rough on the top and have ciliate, stem-encompassing ears at the base. The ligule is less than 1 millimeter long and membranous.

Generative characteristics

The slender, terminal, spiked inflorescences are about 5 to 20 (30) centimeters long. Their 10 to 20 millimeter long spikelets sit loosely to close together. These have pointed, lanceolate glumes that are five-nerved and longer than half the spikelet. Their lemmas are awnless or awned briefly. All in all, the couch grass is an extraordinarily variable looking grass. The couch grass flowers and does not form about 50 seeds until the second year. The flowering period in Central Europe extends from June to August.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 42, less often 28 or 56.

Occurrence

The distribution area of the couch grass stretches over the temperate zones of Eurasia and North Africa.

The couch grass occurs on arable land, nutrient-rich meadows (“ manure meadows ”), overgrazed grassland, on paths, in bank fringes and in weed communities , for example on dams or rubble sites. It is a semi-light plant that grows mainly in nitrogen-rich locations. It thrives on fresh to moderately dry, nutrient- and base-rich, humus-rich or raw, often dense loam or clay soils . She is a trim characteristic species semi- ruderal pioneer and loose lawn - companies ( Elymetalia repentis ), but also occurs in societies of order Artemisietalia or dressing Agropyro-Rumicion ago.

In the Allgäu Alps, the couch grass rises to an altitude of 1150 meters.

ecology

The germination depth of the seeds is about 5 centimeters. The couch grass is a rhizome geophyte and a hemicryptophyte with an extensive system of subterranean runners; the needle-like runners can even penetrate wood and asphalt surfaces. The vegetative reproduction takes place very abundantly through the runners-like rhizomes. These are usually at a depth of 2 to 8 centimeters in the ground, are up to 2 meters long and can achieve an annual growth of 30-100 cm and thus grow through an area of ​​10 square meters per year under favorable conditions. At the end or at the nodes of the runners, upward stalks are formed; that can be up to 150 stalks per year.

The couch grass reproduces by means of underground rhizomes and seed formation. Since this reproduction process takes place very intensively and the plant roots up to 80 cm deep, the couch grass is considered the “ field weed ” par excellence. The length growth of the couch grass roots is about 25 to 30 cm per year on nutrient-poor soils and up to one meter per year on nutrient-rich soils. In some cases, tillage also contributes to the spread. The couch grass is propagated practically mechanically, especially by cutting tillage equipment (e.g. disc harrow ), as the rhizomes are broken up. A new plant can then emerge from each piece of rhizome (popularly known as “root stock”). The plant exudes exudates at the roots , which allelopathically inhibits the growth of other plants and thus promotes their own spread.

From an ecological point of view, it is wind flowering of the "long-dust thread type". There is largely self-sterility.

When ripe, the entire spikelets usually break off from the spindle. There is Velcro spread in addition to wind and human spread. The fruit ripeness extends from August to October.

The couch grass and its leaves are an important fodder for grass-eating mammals . Also caterpillars of butterflies ( Lepidoptera ) such as the black-eared brown thick-headed butterfly ( Thymelicus lineola ) use above-ground parts of the couch grass as a forage plant for ripening. Some birds eat the seeds, especially finches and bunting .

Systematics and distribution

It was first published in 1753 under the name ( Basionym ) Triticum repens by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum , 1, p. 86. The new combination to Elymus repens (L.) Gould was published in 1947 by Frank Walton Gould in Madroño , Volume 9, 4, P. 127 published. Further synonyms for Elymus repens (L.) Gould are, for example: Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex BDJacks. , Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex Nevski , Agropyron repens (L.) P.Beauv. , Elymus hoffmannii K.B. Jensen & Asay , Elymus neogaeus Steud. , Elymus vaillantianus (Wulfen & Schreb.) KBJensen .

Before the species Elymus repens there are the following subspecies:

  • Elymus repens subsp. arenosus (Spenn.) Melderis (Syn .: Triticum repens var. arenosum Spenn. , Elytrigia maritima Tzvelev , Elymus arenosus (Spenn.) Conert ): It thrives on the coasts of the Netherlands, Denmark and the Baltic States . In Germany it thrives in the company of the Bromo-Phleetum in the Mainzer Sand .
  • Elymus repens subsp. atlantis (Maire) Ibn Tattou : It occurs in Morocco only in the Atlas Mountains .
  • Elymus repens subsp. calcareus (Cernjavski) Melderis : It occurs only in North Macedonia .
  • Elymus repens subsp. elongatiformis (Drobow) Melderis : It occurs from Eastern Europe to the Caucasus.
  • Elymus repens subsp. repens : It is widespread in the temperate areas of Eurasia and North Africa and is a neophyte almost worldwide.

use

Cultivation in agriculture

In Northern Europe , e.g. E.g. in Finland , cultivation as fodder grass is recommended if well fertilized. The rhizomes and runners are also nutrient-rich for livestock and are used.

Cultivation as a vegetable and medicinal plant

In the CIS countries there has been an important cultivation of couch grass for a long time. In the Ukrainian administrative district of Poltava in particular , 33 quintals of runners are harvested annually . The runners are harvested from autumn to spring when the ground is not frozen and the rhizomes have not yet sprouted. The highest yield is 2.5 kg / m².

Diseases and pests

Couch fruit cluster with ergot

The couch grass is a host plant for viruses and transmissible fungi and is particularly a host for the ergot- forming fungus Claviceps purpurea .

use

kitchen

In the CIS countries , couch grass is also used as food. The runners are harvested in autumn or spring when they are still in hibernation and not sprouting. The taste of the plant is first like starch, then sweet. As long as the grass is not growing, the roots can be dried and then ground into flour. It is suitable for stretching grain flour. The runners are used fresh to garnish salads or cooked and added to soups. The runners were also processed into syrup or roasted as a coffee substitute and used for alcohol production.

At the beginning of the 19th century, beer was brewed in Germany with these roots.

ingredients

In 100 g, couch grass contains 5 to 6% protein , 30 to 40% sugar and 10% multiple sugars . In addition, 150 mg of vitamin C and 6 mg of carotene are detectable. Triticin and inositol, which are similar to inulin, and small amounts of saponins are also contained as additional substances.

Medical importance

The dried rhizomes and roots are used as a tea drug and come on the market as a finished medicinal product. They are traditionally used as a diuretic for urinary tract inflammation or to prevent kidney gravel . The following were found to be the following ingredients: polysaccharides , especially fructan and tridicin, sugar alcohols , mucilage , silica , little essential oil with the polyene agropyrene (6-phenyl-2,4-hexadiene) and p-hydroxycinnamic acid. It is unclear which components are responsible for the effect of the drug. In addition, couch grass has also been used to purify blood and treat abdominal discomfort.

The couch grass is said to have a soothing effect and should therefore be used for painful urinary tract infections , cystitis (inflammation of the bladder), urethritis (inflammation of the urethra) and prostatitis ( inflammation of the prostate). Thanks to its vascular strengthening and diuretic properties, the couch grass can be used for kidney stones and kidney gravel and can be used with other plants to treat rheumatism .

Control in agriculture

The EPPO code is AGRRE. Once the couch grass has developed and spread properly, it is difficult to control with purely mechanical and agricultural means. In conventional agricultural cultivation, chemical control with a total herbicide (non-selective) that contains the active ingredient glyphosate is usually seen as the last resort. However, it is necessary that the couch grass has formed enough leaf mass, the temperature is on average above 10 ° C and the plant does not suffer from other stress factors (drought, heat, lack of nutrients). The plant must be active during the treatment, as the agent is absorbed through the leaf, but only takes effect in the roots.

The couch grass can also be contained by shading fast-growing plants after harvest ( mustard ).

In fields the couch grass often grows in from the field edges. From there it is then distributed over the entire field by tillage equipment (e.g. rotary harrow ). Therefore, after working the edge of the field, the tines of the device should be checked for stuck roots and these should then be removed. Since the seeds of the couch grass, which are deeper than 7 cm, no longer germinate, a deep plow furrow can also help.

In order to avoid the couch grass becoming a problem, field edges can be cultivated with the cultivator more often after the harvest . This pulls the rhizomes to the surface, where they dry up. Sometimes a plow furrow is plowed at the edge of the field. In addition, tillage with the rotary tiller is effective. Actually, the fragmentation of the roots is considered an increasing process. Frequent use, however, has a combative effect on couch grass, because the length of the rhizome is so greatly reduced and the new growth is weakened each time it is tilled. If the soil surface is also covered by a heavily shading fruit, this often leads to the atrophy of the mercury sprout. A high proportion of root crops , which are often chopped, also reduces growth.

literature

  • Heinz Ellenberg : Vegetation of Central Europe with the Alps in an ecological, dynamic and historical perspective (=  UTB for science. Large series . Volume 8104 ). 5th, heavily changed and improved edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1996, ISBN 3-8252-8104-3 .
  • Dietrich Frohne: Medicinal Plant Lexicon . 7th edition, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8047-1897-3 .
  • Charles Edward Hubbard: Grasses. 2nd edition, UTB 233, Ulmer, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-8001-2537-4 .
  • Ben-Erik van Wyk, Coralie Wink, Michael Wink: Handbook of Medicinal Plants: An Illustrated Guide. Knowledge Verl.-Ges., Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8047-2069-2 .
  • Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait. 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 .
  • Ingrid and Peter Schönfelder : The New Handbook of Medicinal Plants , Botany Medicinal Drugs, Active Ingredients Applications, Franckh-Kosmos Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, 2011, ISBN 978-3-440-12932-6 .

Web links

Commons : Crawfish ( Elymus repens )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: Our grasses: sweet grasses, sour grasses, rushes. 7th edition, Franckh, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-440-05284-2 , p. 146.
  2. ↑ a b Peter Zwerger, Hans Ulrich Ammon (Ed.): Weeds: Ecology and Control. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3846-8 , p. 388.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . 8th edition. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001. ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pages 232-233.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Elymus repens. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  5. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 1, IHW, Eching 2001, ISBN 3-930167-50-6 , p. 212.
  6. ↑ Chen Shouliang, Zhu Guanghua: Elytrigia. In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Eds.): Flora of China . Volume 22: Poaceae . Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 2006, ISBN 1-930723-50-4 , pp. 429 (English). , online, as Elytrigia repens
  7. ^ David William Snow, Christopher M. Perrins: The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-854099-X .
  8. ↑ Elymus repens at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed September 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ a b c M.K. : Using the couch grass , In: vegetables , (from: Kartofel i ovosci, No. 6, 1998), Ulmer Verlag, 1999, p 173rd
  10. ↑ Presentation of the brewery in its entirety and according to the latest improvements: with details of the types of procedures in all countries, and special consideration of Bavarian, Belgian and English beers: together with a description of the brewery facilities, brewing equipment and tools, p. 419f
  11. ↑ Institute for Pharmacy and Biochemistry at the University of Mainz ( Memento from November 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ David Hoffmann : Naturally healthy - herbal medicine . Over 200 herbs and medicinal plants and their effects on health. Ed .: Element Books . 1st edition. Element Books, Shaftesbury , England , UK 1996, Part Three: The Plant Directory, pp.  56 (256 pp., English: The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal . Shaftesbury, England 1996. Translated by Mosaik Verlag).