Ball of grass

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Ball of grass
Common ballgrass (Dactylis glomerata)

Common ballgrass ( Dactylis glomerata )

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily : Pooideae
Genre : Ball of grass
Scientific name
Dactylis
L.

The ball grasses or clump grasses ( Dactylis ) are a genus of plants within the sweet grass family (Poaceae).

description

Illustration of the common ball grass ( Dactylis glomerata )
Inflorescence of the common ball-grass ( Dactylis glomerata )

Vegetative characteristics

The tangled grass species are perennial herbaceous plants . These grasses grow in clusters with numerous renewal shoots. The stalks have several nodes , also above, they are glabrous and rough below the panicle. The leaf sheaths of the renewal shoots are fused at least in the lower half, laterally compressed and keeled. The ligule is a membranous border. The leaf blades are flat to curled, with a keel. In the bud position , the leaves are folded together.

Generative characteristics

In the paniculate inflorescence , the spikelets are clustered at the end of the side branches. The branches are protruding to upright, lobed and slightly one-sided. The spikelets contain two to six flowers, all of which are hermaphroditic. The spikelets are 4 to 8 mm long, laterally compressed and greenish to purple in color. The ear axis is hairy to very short. The two glumes are keeled, shorter than the spikelet and unequal: the lower one is one-nerved, the upper three-nerved and longer and broader than the lower. The lemmas are five-nerved, keeled and have a prickly tip or short awn . They are about as long as the upper glume and membranous. The palea are two-veined, tender-skinned and shorter than the lemma. There are three stamens . The ovary is bald and has two short, terminal styles with short-feathered scars .

The caryopses are bare. The navel is point-shaped. When the fruit ripens, the florets fall out individually, while the glumes remain.

Systematics

The genus Dactylis was established by Carl von Linné in 1753 . The etymology of the generic name is not entirely clear. Dactylis is derived either from the Greek dactylos = finger, which would refer to the protruding panicle branches; or from Latin dactylis , a type of grape, which would refer to the spikelets clustered at the ends of the panicle branches. Synonyms for Dactylis L. are: Trachypoa Bubani nom. superfl., Dactilis Neck.

The genus Dactylis belongs to the tribe Poeae in the subfamily Pooideae within the family Poaceae .

According to the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, there are only two species of the genus Dactylis . Apart from Dactylis glomerata , these are Dactylis smithii Link , which occurs in Macaronesia. The species Dactylis glomerata L. is divided into 19 subspecies.

In Central Europe, according to Fischer et al. 2008 one or two types before:

  • Common ball-grass ( Dactylis glomerata L. ): It is widespread in Eurasia, North Africa, South Africa and is a neophyte in the New World .
  • Forest ball grass ( Dactylis polygama Horv. ): It occurs in Europe. But it is also known as a subspecies Dactylis glomerata subsp. lobata (Drejer) H. Lindb. rated.

supporting documents

  • Siegmund Seybold (Ed.): Schmeil-Fitschen interactive . CD-ROM, version 1.1. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6 .
  • Walter Erhardt , Erich Götz, Nils Bödeker, Siegmund Seybold: The great pikeperch. Encyclopedia of Plant Names. Volume 2. Types and varieties. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. a b Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Dactylis. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  2. ^ A b 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 .

Web links

Commons : Ballgrass ( Dactylis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files