Common stench grass

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Common stench grass
Common stork grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum)

Common stork grass ( Anthoxanthum odoratum )

Systematics
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily : Pooideae
Genre : Stalk grass ( anthoxanthum )
Type : Common stench grass
Scientific name
Anthoxanthum odoratum
L.

The common stork grass , fragrant stalk grass or short stalk grass ( Anthoxanthum odoratum ) is a type of plant from the genus of stalk grass ( Anthoxanthum ) within the family of sweet grasses (Poaceae). It is widespread in Eurasia . Due to the formation of coumarin, the hay has a characteristic hay or woodruff odor.

description

Illustration from Flora Batava , Volume 2.
Tufts of hair on the leaf base.

Vegetative characteristics

The common stalk grass is a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches heights of 15 to 50, rarely up to 80 centimeters. It is a tender grass with small, loose clumps. The numerous renewal shoots grow tall within the leaf sheaths . The stalks have two to four nodes .

The leaves are divided into leaf sheath and leaf blade. The leaf sheaths are bare or covered with hairs 0.5 to 1 mm long, at the opening the hairs are 1 to 2 mm long. The ligule is a membranous border 1.5 to 5 mm long. The leaf blades are 2 to 10 cm long and 2 to 6 mm wide. For plants in damp locations, the length can reach 30 cm and the width 8 mm. The blades are spread out flat, gray-green on both sides, dull, as well as bald or hairy.

Spikelets with splayed husks.
Spikelets, dissected; Glu ', Glu "= glumes; Lem', Lem" = lemmas of the sterile, stunted flowers; Lem '"= lemma of the fertile flower; Pal = palea of ​​the fertile flower

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends from April to June, rarely until July. The panicle inflorescence is 2 to 8 cm long, 6 to 15 mm wide, dense and contracted. The spikelets are three-flowered, 6 to 9 mm long and broadly lanceolate in shape. The glumes are very uneven, keeled, membranous, glabrous and hairy only on the keel or hairy densely and briefly. The lower glume is single-nerved, 4 to 6 mm long and lanceolate, the upper is three-nerved, 6 to 9 mm long and broadly lanceolate. The two lowest flowers of each spikelet are sterile, their lemmas are almost identical to one another, 3 to 4 mm long, narrow-elliptical and broadly rounded to short notched at the upper end, with 0.6 to 1 mm long, dense hairs. The lower of these lemmas is five- nerved and has a 2 to 3 mm long awn on its back in the middle , the upper one is four-nerved and has a 6 to 9 mm long kneeling awn at the base. The palea is absent from the two sterile flowers. In the uppermost, fertile floret, the lemma is five-veined, 2 to 2.5 mm long, ovate, smooth, shiny and glabrous. Your palea is one-nerved, 1.8 to 2.3 mm long and ovate. There are two anthers that are 3 to 4.5 mm long.

The caryopsis is about 2 mm long and elliptical. The spikelets disintegrate at maturity in such a way that all three florets of the spikelet fall out of the glumes together.

The number of chromosomes in Central Europe is 2n = 20. The species is tetraploid there .

ecology

The common stalk grass is a clump-forming hemicryptophyte that roots up to 15 cm deep in clay soils. Vegetative reproduction takes place through long runners . Due to the formation of coumarin, the hay has a characteristic hay or woodruff odor.

From an ecological point of view, it is wind pollination of the "long-dust thread type 2". The flowers are feminine and, despite the lack of erectile tissue, spread to form an anthesis and are self-fertile .

The caryopses are very small and tightly enclosed by the lemmas. The units of distribution are multi-flowered partial inflorescences, which are subject to Velcro spreading due to the knee-shaped stylus and the protruding hairs of the lower lemmas; they are also bored fruits and, due to the air trapped between the husk and fruit, are subject to the spread of wind as balloon flyers. They are light germs . Fruit ripening is from June to August.

Occurrence and endangerment

The common stalk grass is widespread from Europe to Mongolia, Macaronesia and northwestern Africa. In North America and other cool temperate areas it is a neophyte . The main area of ​​distribution is in the sub-oceanic areas. It occurs from the plains to the mountains. In the Black Forest it rises to altitudes of 1425 meters, in the Alps up to around 2000 meters.

The main area of ​​distribution is in poor mountain meadows, where it forms the spring aspect as an early flowering species. It also grows in other rough meadows, in sparse deciduous forests, in bushes, along roadsides and in low moors . It prefers fresh to moderately dry, rather nutrient-poor, base and lime-poor, rather acidic, humus loam and sand-loam soils. It is a light plant and indicator of thinness .

In the plant sociological system it is a species of the Molinio-Arrhenatheretea (grassland societies). It is also found in Scheuchzerio-Caricetea (flat and fens) and Nardo-Callunetea (Bürstling lawns and dwarf shrub heaths ) and in Quercion roboris (oak-birch forests).

The common stalk grass is widespread in Central Europe, only in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is it listed as endangered on the Red List.

use

Common stalk grass is a low-yielding grass that grazing cattle avoid due to its bitter taste or only eat it when young. It is considered "inferior, previously overestimated common grass". Due to the smell, it is sometimes added to ornamental lawn mixtures.

Due to its coumarin content, it was and is used as a condiment for drinks, for snuff and herbal pillows. In larger quantities it is considered harmful.

Common names

The names gold grass ( Silesia ), lavender grass (Silesia), teuka grass and willow grass ( Pinzgau ) are or were, in some cases only regional, for the common Ruchgras .

supporting documents

In addition to the sources listed in the individual references, the article is based on the following documents:

  • Hans Joachim Conert: Parey's grass book. Recognize and determine the grasses of Germany . Parey, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8263-3327-6 , pp. 192 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Siegmund Seybold (Ed.): Schmeil-Fitschen interactive (CD-Rom), Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2001/2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6
  2. ↑ a b c 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 .
  3. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Anthoxanthum odoratum. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ A b C. E. Hubbard: Grasses. A Guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles . Penguin, London 1992, ISBN 0-14-013227-9 , p. 269.
  5. ↑ a b 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 .
  6. ^ A b Ernst Klapp , Wilhelm Opitz von Boberfeld : Pocket book of grasses. Recognition and determination, location and socialization, evaluation and use . 13th revised edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2006, ISBN 3-8001-4775-0 , p. 170 .
  7. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, page 32, online.

Web links

Commons : common stalk ( Anthoxanthum odoratum )  - album with pictures, videos and audio files